Lucid
by skutti2000
Summary: Beatrice Prior has doubts and dreams, fears and fire. And that special fire is what makes her who she is. She's surrounded by friends who care for her, adults who want to nurture her, and a God who loves her. Can she open her doors and let herself shine her warmth to others? This is a pretty clean fanfic but there should be some FourTris in later chapters. Christianity-themed.
1. Chapter 1

I nervously tug down my shirt as I look at myself in the mirror. At sixteen, I'm supposed to be taller, curvier, just a lot more…grown up, I guess? I inspect my image with critical eyes. My feet are encased in my lucky high-tops, which are raggedy and coming apart but loved nevertheless. I haven't shaved since last night, so my legs are a little prickly. My gray denim capris hit right below the knee. My soft, faded black tee clings slightly to my waist but has room on the shoulders. I sigh and look at my silhouette. I'd be lying if I said I saw a hint of curves. My light blonde hair is in a ponytail, mostly because I really don't care enough to make it look nice. My nose occupies too much space on my thin face. At least my eyes look good. They're probably my favorite part about me, gray-blue with a certain twinkle about them. My friend Susan always said that with a little makeup, my eyes could knock out anyone who dared to stare at me. Of course, we were twelve at the time and going through our "rebellious teenage phase"- neither of us actually had the intention of trying anything of the sort. My parents always taught that modesty was the best, and makeup for them was like a gateway to skimpy clothing. I didn't blame them, to be honest. I've always been repulsed by girls who cake on the makeup, and I just don't have the time or effort to put it on anyway.

"Beatrice?" I wince as my mom calls my name. I sound like my great-grandmother. After all, I was named after her. "Ready to go?"

I adjust my shirt again. "Coming in a second!" We had just moved to Chicago, and it was a world away from our little town in Oregon. With a new house came a new youth group. Today, I was going to my new church's youth group, named Dauntless. My parents had made me go to youth group every Wednesday at our old church as soon as I was of age. It wasn't that I minded, but our old youth group, called Abnegation, had always felt a little lacking. There were only four people in the entire youth group: me, Susan, my older brother Caleb, and Susan's twin brother Robert. Usually, one of the pastors would be assigned to teach that night and would drone on about rules, rules, and more rules. I mean, wasn't Christianity supposed to be all about grace and Jesus and discipleship? What I had liked about our youth group, though, were the community service projects. We had two every month, and I loved tending to the homeless in the church's soup kitchen and serving in the food pantry.

"Beatrice! You're going to be late!" I hear my mom's exasperated voice and realize I have been thinking for way too long. I find my Bible and grab my purse as I run out the door.

 **A/N Hey guys, I'm really glad you stopped by to read my fanfic! This is my first fanfiction, so I would LOVE LOVE LOVE if you guys would give me some constructive criticism about my writing. Also some tips about how this whole website works would be _really_ helpful, because everything is so vague, argh! Please leave reviews! **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N I realized I needed a disclaimer…all of the Divergent characters belong to (the one, the only) Veronica Roth!**

I run from my car in the parking lot and burst through the doors of the youth wing. This is the second time I've been late for the student leadership meeting this month, and I have a feeling that Max isn't going to be too happy.

I rush into the youth room as quietly as I can and sit in the back row, but everyone's already staring at me. Max beckons me with his hand. "Sit closer, Tobias. There's more than five empty rows separating you from all of us. I won't bite, I promise." I slide into a seat next to Zeke, my best friend. He raises his eyebrows at me and shakes his head disapprovingly, tapping a pretend watch to tell me I'm late, but I know that inside he's probably just cracking up good-naturedly like he usually does. I kick his foot in mock anger and he lets out a little yelp. I look up and meet Max's eyes, who seem to be silently laughing at Zeke and I.

He gives us an overview of what's going to happen at youth group, including the worship set for the night and a brief outline of the lesson. Now, when a lot of people think of worship at church, they think of hymns played at the piano or some random guitarist leading the congregation in songs from the nineties. Neither of which is bad, but our youth group has a real band. As in drums, bass, guitar, etc. Zeke and I co-lead, alternating electric guitar and acoustic guitar every week. Zeke's brother, Uriah, is our drummer, and Lynn, a girl in our youth group, is our bassist. We haven't had a good female vocalist in a while though…not to mention our dire need of someone to play keyboard. If someone could play both, that would be amazing, but I'm not getting my hopes up. Zeke and I have searched for weeks on end for a girl to sing and someone to play keyboard, but no one's really clicked yet. Usually it's just some giggling freshman who doesn't have the faintest idea what she's doing.

Zeke jabs my arm and I realize that I've accidentally tuned out the entire meeting. Max is about to let us go when he suddenly calls our attention back to him. "Excuse me, guys, I have an announcement." The room falls silent, and I even lean forward. It's not often that Max has an announcement.

He clears his throat. "A new family is getting involved with our church. Two new faces are going to appear tonight at youth group. I want you all to be welcoming, but not fake, okay? Remember, it is what you make it." He smiled as all of us internally groaned. His mantra, _it is what you make it_ , was pretty well known to all of us. He always managed to slip it in at least five times a week.

Mantras aside, though, I was strangely excited to meet the new people. And I had no idea why.

 **A/N So there you have it! I'm probably going to update a few chapters at a time, it just depends on how much time I have and how the words are coming out of my fingers! I'm sure the writers out there reading this understand. Once I get the hang of this, I'll probably set some kind of updating schedule. Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N All Divergent characters belong to Veronica Roth. Who, last time I checked, is not me. Oh well.**

Thanks to mom's "safe" speeding and weaving around "those grandma slowpokes" (who knew my mom was such an aggressive driver, right?), we arrived at youth group with seven minutes to spare. After two minutes of arguing with Mom about whether she should go inside and drop us off, she left the parking lot, leaving Caleb and I standing in front of the side doors of the church. A sign was draped above the doors, saying _Dauntless: Fearless for Jesus_. Caleb smirked at the sign. "Well that's not cheesy at all."

I smiled. "I actually kind of like it."

Caleb gave me a weird look. "Seriously? It's kind of lame." I rolled my eyes and ignored him. Lately he had been kind of touchy when it came to church, and I didn't really want to step over the line that he had drawn.

I went past him and pushed open the door. Twenty-One Pilots was blaring on the sound system, and there were teenagers milling around everywhere. As my eyes traveled around the room, I took in the stage lights, the black paint, and the friendly, accepting vibe that pulsed in the room.

"Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore," I breathed. I stepped forward hesitantly. People looked effortlessly cool here, and as I looked down at my outfit, I felt like I was a fifth grader invited to a senior party. But I liked it. I wanted to be one of them. I wanted to be Dauntless. I just hoped that this youth group had some substance to go with it.

Meanwhile, Caleb was looking around with obvious distaste. "This isn't church."

"No, this is church. This isn't Abnegation," I corrected him.

"Beatrice, you haven't even been in the room for five minutes yet. How do you know they're not some Satan-worshipping cult that sacrifices black cats at midnight?"

I laughed at his grave face. "Oh, lighten up. And I definitely know."

"How?"

I looked around. "The welcoming warmth of the place spells it out for me."

"Oh please, anyone can be 'welcoming'."

I suddenly felt extremely annoyed by Caleb. "Look, you can just stay here and throw yourself a little pessimism party, but I'm not joining you." With that, I walked away. In fact, I was so caught up with walking away that I ran someone over. And then I tripped over that person. Great.

The girl picked herself up and offered her hand. I accepted it and she pulled me up and smiled. "Hey, I'm Christina. You must be new."

I winced. "Is it that obvious?"

Christina threw her head back and laughed. She had the kind of personality that just made you want to laugh with her. "Don't worry. I already like you."

I grinned at her while finally getting a look at my new friend. She was pretty, with tan skin and black hair cut at her shoulders. "Thanks. I like you too."

A voice crooned behind us. "Aww, just kiss already. That would be fun to watch." Christina whirled around, fuming to confront the voice.

I turned around as well and came face to face with green eyes and a mop of black hair. He would have been handsome if it wasn't for the crooked smile and slightly creepy glint in his eyes. But with all of that, he was just plain repelling.

"Peter, just stop. No one wants to listen to you make comments like that." Christina's voice was filled with mock patience and laced with anger.

Peter put his hands up in surrender and backed away. "Down, girl. I just say what's on my mind. And may I say-" he turned to me and gave a dazzling smile, "whoever you are, if you need anything, Peter's your man, all right?" With that he sauntered off.

Christina's face was apologetic. "I'm so sorry you had to see that. Though you do need to steer clear from him. There'll always be people like Peter in the world. You just can't help it."

I shrugged. "It's okay. He deserved it." I looked up at the screen in the front of the room. A one-minute countdown clock had started. "What's going on?"

Christina took my hand and dragged me to a row of chairs. She sat me down in the front row and grinned excitedly. "It's starting!"

I felt a smile creep onto my face when I realized I had never introduced myself. "Hey Christina?"

"Yeah?"

"My name is…" I bit my lip. Beatrice seemed too out of place here. "My name is Tris."

Christina nodded approvingly. "Tris. I like it."

 **A/N That was pretty fun to write! Hopefully it was pretty fun to read too. Leave your reviews, I really appreciate it! Thanks for reading! Updates coming soon** **J**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N All Divergent ideas belong to Veronica Roth. I would also like to thank Keeper for reviewing this story (I totally get what you mean! That's part of the reason I created this fanfiction) and Fairyvixenmaiden for being my first follower. Without further ado, here's the next chapter!**

As the countdown clock started, Zeke and I stood right next to the stage. Max always assigned us as the two who tell announcements and upcoming events to the rest of the youth group. It had been a while since it was someone else. Max always says it's because Zeke and I get along so well and play off each other, making our youth group seem a lot more real. Whatever.

I watch as the countdown hits zero and Zeke and I step up onto the stage, mics in hand. Zeke pretends he's some pop megastar and yells, "HELLO DAUNTLESS!"

I just roll my eyes and smile. "Hey guys, if you don't know us, I'm Tobias, and this knucklehead over here is Ezekiel."

"Ezekiel?" He gasps in mock horror. "I can't believe you."

I smirk. "Well anyway, we have a few things to tell you guys for the next few weeks. Zeke?"

He punches my arm. "Oh, so _now_ you call me Zeke."

"Just say the announcements, Zeke."

"Fine, okay." He puts his bottom lip out for a second. "Take all the fun out of it."

"Zeke!"

"Right, right." He turns to the youth group and talks about the fundraiser that's coming up. Meanwhile I feel like I'm being watched. I mean, obviously I'm being watched, I'm on stage. But this is more like…studied.

"…Tobias?" I realize that Zeke has been poking my arm, and I've just zoned out. I give everyone a sheepish grin. "Sorry. Um, we have a huge youth conference coming up called Divergent. It has great speakers, amazing…" I trail off as I lock eyes with a blonde in the front row that I've never seen before. She has big blue eyes and shiny blonde hair tied up in a ponytail. And she's staring at me. "Amazing…" I try to start again, but for some reason the words aren't coming out. I look at her for what seems like hours. She's beautiful.

Wait what?

I shake my head to clear it a little. "Great speakers, amazing worship, and can I tell you, the food is incredible." I playfully hit Zeke upside the head. "Obviously, you know which one of us is going to be pigging out the most."

We manage to finish announcements without any more weird pauses, but the girl is still imprinted into my brain. Was she one of the new people that Max was talking about? I sure hope so.

Argh, why am I thinking like this? She's just a random girl. She shouldn't be anything special to me.

Right?

I tune in just in time to hear Zeke say "I'm going to call the band members up here…" I quickly pick up my electric guitar and sling it over my shoulder. I'm glad I'm not singing tonight; I probably wouldn't be able to focus.

I glance at her one more time right before worship starts. I'm excited to see what she thinks about us.

 **A/N So obviously some foreshadowing for FourTris there, and I want you guys to know that I am going to keep their relationship clean. Sorry for anyone who's disappointed, but I am determined to keep it that way. Again, please review! I need criticism :P**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N Sooooo sorry for not updating yesterday guys! But thank you Pansycake46 for favoriting! Divergent ideas and characters belong to Veronica Roth. Just so you guys know, this chapter is going to be mostly the last chapter in Tris's point of view.**

As the countdown clock hits zero, two guys climb up on stage. Unfortunately, Christina decides to lean forward, blocking my view of one of them. The guy that I can see is pretty good-looking, with curly brown hair, high cheekbones, and chocolate eyes that seem like they're perpetually smiling. He throws up his hands like a popstar and shouts, "HELLO DAUNTLESS!"

The audience can barely suppress their laughter, and I find myself laughing too. As I scan the crowd, I realize I can't see Caleb anywhere. Oh well, it's a big youth group, maybe I just don't see him.

I look up and see that Christina has finally leaned back, giving me a clear view of the other guy. There's something intriguing about him. I can tell from this distance that he has deep blue eyes, the kind of eyes I've always wanted myself. I study him, making sure he doesn't glance my way, but he seems to be oblivious to my existence. What is it about him that makes him so fascinating?

He speaks, and you can hear the smile in his voice. "Hey guys, if you don't know us, I'm Tobias, and this knucklehead over here is Ezekiel." He nudges his friend with his elbow.

"Ezekiel?" Drama-popstar guy gasps in mock horror. "I can't believe you." I can't believe it either. Ezekiel's even worse than Beatrice!

Tobias smirks. "Well anyway, we have a few things to tell you guys for the next few weeks. Zeke?" Oh, the nickname sounds so much better.

Zeke punches Tobias's arm. "Oh, so _now_ you call me Zeke."

"Just say the announcements, Zeke."

"Fine, okay." He puts his bottom lip out for a second. "Take all the fun out of it."

"Zeke!"

"Right, right." He goes on to tell us all about a fundraiser for a "special event" coming up. I don't know anything about it, so I tune him out and continue to stare at Tobias. I don't get it. Boys usually don't affect me this way (I've always been pretty independent), and it's not even a crush that I'm feeling; it's like he's a mystery that I want to crack.

It seems like he's a bit distracted, because Zeke has to cue him in to talk about the next item on the list. He gives everyone a sheepish grin. "Sorry. Um, we have a huge youth conference coming up called Divergent. It has great speakers, amazing…" He trail off as he locks eyes with me. His gaze is unnerving, but I'm determined to win this staring contest. "Amazing…" he says, as if he's trying to start again, but then a thought comes to me. Does he think that maybe _I'm_ amazing?

Ha. No way. What am I even thinking?

He shakes my head to clear it a little. "Great speakers, amazing worship, and can I tell you, the food is incredible." I playfully hit Zeke upside the head. "Obviously, you know which one of us is going to be pigging out the most." The rest of the youth group laughs with him, but I can tell that he's still distracted by something. Zeke and Tobias finish up with the rest of the announcements, but I tune them out. Something is weighing on my mind, but it slips just out of reach before I can touch it. I can feel that something's about to happen, but I have no idea what.

I come back to real life when Christina jabs her elbow into my arm. "Look, look!"

I glance at the stage, and the raised platform is filled with blue light, bouncing off the black walls. A girl with a buzz cut carries a shiny black bass, its polish glinting amidst the shadows. Zeke stands with an acoustic guitar, adjusting a mic in front of him. Meanwhile, a carbon copy of him (but with straight hair) sits behind the drums. I start to feel excitement building up within me. Modern music was considered selfish, sinful, and indulgent in our previous church, so I haven't ever listened to contemporary music. Not even contemporary Christian.

Zeke comes up to the mic. "Hey guys," he rasps, "Let's worship." He begins plucking a melody on his guitar. When he sings, his gravelly voice resonates throughout the room, the song's words striking something deep within me.

 _I need You to soften my heart, to break me apart_

 _I need You to open my eyes, to see that You're shaping my life_

 _All I am, I surrender_

 _Give me faith to trust what You say_

 _That You're good and Your love is great_

 _I'm broken inside, I give You my life_

 _I need You to soften my heart, to break me apart_

 _I need You to pierce through the dark, and cleanse every part of me_

 _All I am, I surrender_

 _Give me faith to trust what You say_

 _That You're good and Your love is great_

 _I'm broken inside, I give You my life_

 _I may be weak, but Your Spirit's strong in me_

 _My flesh may fail, My God You never will_

He steps away from the mic. The entire room is completely silent, and I am caught up in the words. I'm weak, and I don't have the qualities I should have right now. But God can make me strong. With His help, I can overcome anything.

I can be brave.

 **A/N The song Zeke sang is "Give Me Faith" by Elevation Worship. I urge you guys to check it out, as well as their other songs. Again, thank you for reading and** ** _please_** **review! I haven't gotten a critical review, and I need one. Desperately. (I know, I know, I'm weird, but help me out here!) Hope you guys have an awesome day!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N Guess who rights to Divergent belong to? Not me.**

I watch the girl as Zeke sings the first song. Her eyes are closed, and she's lightly swaying to the music. I smile a little. She doesn't seem to know the song, but I can tell its words are hitting her hard.

Zeke's ballad ends and everything is silent for a minute.

Then I realize that's my cue.

The opening notes flow out of my electric guitar through the speakers as the crowd cheers. Our youth group loves this song. Uriah and Lynn come in with me, and Zeke is grinning and playing his acoustic guitar.

 _Yeah, yeah, we shine, we shine with the light of God_

 _And when we speak we speak with words of love_

 _And when we dance we may get a little wild_

 _'Cause we're the people of God, yeah, the people of God_

The girl is alert now, nodding her head to the beat. She's wondering where this is going to go.

 _When we sing we sing the angel's song_

 _The ones they're singing around the throne_

 _Yeah, yeah, we worship the King with everything that we are_

 _'Cause we're the people of God, yeah, the people of God_

 _And now is the time for the people to rise_

 _Lift up a shout, everybody cry out_

 _Raise your voice, shout out a noise, and dance a dance of joy_

 _We are the redeemed, we are the ones who are free_

 _And we belong to Jesus_

 _We are now alive and in this world we will shine_

 _'Cause we belong to Jesus_

She's dancing with Christina now, hands in the air. Pure delight is written all over her face, and I feel a grin creep onto mine knowing that I'm part of the reason why.

Well, kind of, anyway.

We finish out the song with a huge crash by Uriah, and the cheers are almost deafening.

After the lesson is over, Max tells us all to gather together in our small groups. **(A/N I'm skipping the lesson. I don't think you guys want to read a sermon!)** I head over to Tori with Zeke on my heels, and she smiles at us. "Great worship today, boys." We nod our head to her in thanks. I look around at our group and realize how lucky I am to have them. Zeke, Uriah, Lynn, Shauna, Marlene, Will, Christina…

Wait, where's Christina? She's usually here by now, chatting it up with Will.

Tori leads us to a bright room in the church. One entire wall was glass, facing the outside. On Sundays, it's used as a café, but on Wednesdays it's the meeting spot for our small group.

We drag chairs into a circle and push some tables out of the way. I take a seat next to Zeke; there are two empty seats beside me. Tori clears her throat. "So what did you guys think ab-"

She's cut off by Christina bursting in, out of breath. "Sorry guys! I just had to bring in a friend. She's new." She's dragging in the blonde girl. I feel my breath catch in my throat.

The girl tries to pull her arm out of Christina's hand. "Okay, Christina, you can let go now!"

Christina looks at her sheepishly and drops her arm. "Sorry. I got excited."

"It seems like you're always excited." The girl rolls her eyes good-naturedly and everyone laughs.

Tori speaks up. "Hi, I'm Tori Wu. It's very nice to meet you...?"

"Tris," the girl completes Tori's sentence. "My name is Tris." The name fits her. It's simply beautiful.

I need to stop thinking like this.

Christina goes around and introduces everyone. Finally she lands on me. "And this is Tobias." I feel Tris's eyes land on mine, and I'm taken aback by her eyes once again. They're blue, which I knew, but they have a layer of gray under them. It looks like a storm is brewing in them.

"Why don't you sit down and join us, Tris?" Tori smiles warmly at her, and she hesitantly moves towards the empty chairs. I'm pleased when she decides to sit in the chair next to mine, and Christina slides in on the other side of Tris. "Well guys, today's lesson was about how even when we can't trust our own family, we can trust God. What are your thoughts on this?"

I keep silent, and look at my shoes. My family life is pretty messed up. I've shared a lot of deep things with this group, but only Zeke knows about my parents.

Marlene tosses her hair behind one shoulder. "I personally don't think this lesson was one of Max's best. I mean, it's safe to say that all of us have great families who care about what we do and love us to the max. I just don't think the lesson today was applicable, really."

I instantly start to feel anger build up in my throat. Marlene has always been a little on the annoying side, but it's usually been with things that aren't as heavy as this. Zeke glances at me and gives me a look saying _Bro, calm down._ I take deep breaths and soon I'm calm again.

But then Lynn joins in. "Yeah I know, Mar. Through the whole thing I was just thinking about how no one in our youth group had really experienced what he was saying, and even if someone 'did', quote on quote, they're probably just being huge drama queens."

I saw red. I was about to punch the wall (and break through it) when I heard a tiny sniffle next to me. I looked at Tris in surprise.

Tears were running down her cheeks and down her neck, and her eyes were red and puffy. "Excuse me," she whispered. She ran out of the room.

"Tris!" Christina ran out after her.

The color had drained out of Tori's face. She forced a smile. "Lynn, Marlene, can I speak to you please? Alone?"

They nodded and the rest of us filed out of the room. I was glad Tori was reprimanding them. They both needed to be more careful with their words. We had all missed out on getting to know someone incredible because of them.

Argh, I was getting cheesier by the minute. What was happening to me?

 **A/N The song was "We Shine" by Fee. By the way, guys, I have to say I'm pretty disappointed. I respect you guys IMMENSELY for reading my story, but I need reviews! I'm going to wait until I get 3 new reviews before posting the next chapter. I believe in you guys, you got this! Thanks again for reading.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N For that one reader out there: I'm sorry, but I'm not from Oregon, I just included it in the story** **L** **You guys finally made it to 3 reviewers! I was beginning to get worried. (Worried for 3 reviewers, people? That's just pathetic.) As your reward, here's a new chapter, fresh off the press!**

After some incredible worship and an insightful lesson, I'm pretty sure I'm in love with this youth group. And then the youth pastor says something about a small group. I have no idea what that is, but hopefully it's as amazing as the rest of the night.

Everyone starts gravitating towards the doors of the youth room and I realize that I don't have anywhere to go. Then Christina grabs my arm.

I yelp. "Hey, you scared me!"

"Sorry!" Christina smiles apologetically and drops my arm. "Do you want to come to my small group? Max usually just lets new people go to whatever group they want."

"Max?"

"Oh, Max is our youth pastor. You know, the guy who spoke tonight. So are you coming or not?"

I smile. It's a nice feeling, being wanted. "Of course! Um, so where do we go?"

Christina grins and takes my arm again, dragging me through a maze of hallways into a room with a glass wall facing the outside. It's beautiful. Then I feel Christina's fingernails digging into my skin.

I try to pull my arm out of Christina's hand. "Okay, Christina, you can let go now!"

Christina looks at me sheepishly and finally drops it. "Sorry. I got excited."

"It seems like you're always excited." Everyone in the room laughs, and an adult in the room speaks up. Besides Pastor Max, I didn't realize that there were other adults in the youth group.

"Hi, I'm Tori Wu. It's very nice to meet you...?"

"Tris," I finish for her. "My name is Tris." I don't know why I said my name twice, but oddly enough saying it gives me more strength, unlike Beatrice which made me want to hide.

"Hey, Tris, let me introduce everyone to you!" Christina squeals. She goes around the room, telling me their names. Lynn was the girl with the buzz cut playing bass tonight. Shauna's a blonde who seems to talk to Zeke a little _too_ much, if you know what I mean. Will has bright green eyes behind square black glasses, and Christina smiles at him for a second longer than everyone else. Interesting. Marlene has long wavy brown hair and dark eyes that compliment her pale skin. Uriah was the guy playing drums and is brothers with Zeke, who is sitting next to him. Finally, beside Zeke is Tobias, with those mysterious eyes that intrigued me before. So _he's_ in this small group.

"Why don't you sit down and join us, Tris?" She smiles at me as I make my way towards the empty seats, both of which are near Tobias. Christina seems to be heading for the one on the edge so I sit between her and Tobias. Just sitting next to him makes me realize how tall and built he is, but it doesn't make me scared, like with Peter; instead, it makes me feel protected and safe.

"Well guys, today's lesson was about how even when we can't trust our own family, we can trust God. What are your thoughts on this?" Tori leans forward and I piece together that in these small groups we're going to be doing a lot of discussions.

I also put together that while I'm going to be able to trust this group with a lot of my deep feelings, family is one I'm going to have to hide. My mom is amazing, and my brother is someone I can rely on. But my dad…not so much. He's a politician, and though he lives under the same roof with me it doesn't feel like it. I haven't spoken a word to him in six years, that's how bad it is. When I do see him, he's usually just yelling at Mom, as if she's the one who needs to be yelled at. So all the daddy-daughter dances at school? Nope, didn't happen for me. Father's Day wasn't celebrated, because though Caleb and I had a biological father it didn't seem like we had a real one. No one taught me how to play sports, because Mom was, well, Mom, and Caleb always had his nose in a book. The list goes on and on.

That's probably why the lesson today hit me so hard. It was incredible to hear how I could depend on someone else for my strength. But then my bubble burst.

"I personally don't think this lesson was one of Max's best. I mean, it's safe to say that all of us have perfectly great families who care about what we do and love us to the max **(A/N no pun intended!)**. I just don't think the lesson today was applicable, really." It's Marlene. She looked nice enough at first. Is she really this ignorant? My vision begins to blur with tears. I hear Tobias taking deep breaths; I wonder why. Tori glances in our direction, her face full of alarm. She opens her mouth to say something when Lynn speaks instead.

"Yeah I know, Mar. Through the whole thing I was just thinking about how no one in our youth group had really experienced what he was saying, and even if someone 'did', quote on quote, they're probably just being huge drama queens."

There's a deafening silence as quiet tears run down my cheeks. They didn't have to go through what I did, and I'm happy for them. But can they really be so oblivious to the rest of the world? Don't they have a thought for the people around them? I sniffle a little, and Tobias looks at me in surprise. I'm embarrassing myself. I have to get out of here, fast. "E-excuse me," I whisper, and run out the door.

"Tris!" I hear Christina's voice bounce off the corridor walls as I run. I have no idea where I'm going. I just need to be alone.

I reach a door at the end of a hallway and turn the doorknob. I walk into a library and I immediately feel calmer. I wipe the tears off my cheeks with the back of my wrist and take a deep breath. The scent of old paper and leather bound Bibles fill my nose. I plop down onto a couch and pick up the nearest book, which happens to be a Bible, of course. There's a passage marked in it.

" _John 16:33_ ," I read aloud. " _I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world."_ I sigh. Everything about this verse applies to my life right now. I run my finger over the words as peace takes over me. This world is full of things that tend to get in your way, but you can just bust through them if you have the strength.

I will have the strength.

No.

I already have the strength.

 **A/N** **This was a pretty depressing chapter, so I just wanted to assure you guys that there will be some great FourTris and some hilarious Uriah/Zeke action in the upcoming chapters! HOWEVER I am going to wait until I have 3 more reviews before posting the next one. So if you want to read the next chapter, it's in your hands. Thanks for reading, hope to post again soon!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N All rights for Divergent belong to Veronica Roth!**

I try to make myself comfortable in one of the chairs in the lobby. I check my watch. We still have ten minutes of youth group left, and since Tori is still chewing out Marlene and Lynn we're all just milling around the church lobby, counting the minutes as they tick by.

Christina runs to us, breathless. "I've searched everywhere! I can't find her!"

Uriah scratches the back of his head. "I wouldn't blame Tris if she just left."

I just shake my head. I still can't believe she had to go through all that with Marlene and Lynn. But a part of me is curious. What happened to her family?

"But she couldn't have left," Christina reasoned. "The direction she was running just goes deeper into the church."

"How about we just spread out and search the church? I don't think Tori will be done with them before youth group ends, so we have time. We can text each other if we find her," Shauna proposes.

"Great idea!" Christina squeals, as usual. She immediately sprints off.

Everyone disperses and soon I'm left alone in the lobby. I try to think. If I were Tris, where would I go? Maybe back to the youth room, it's familiar to her.

 _The library,_ a voice in my head prods. _Check the library._

The library? Where did that come from? I shake my head. That's the exact opposite of what I was thinking. The library is secluded in one corner of the church, and I'm not even sure Zeke knows it exists.

 _Go to the library_.

I ignore the nagging feeling in my gut and walk to the youth room. It's empty, except for a couple small groups in deep discussion scattered on the carpet. Where could she be?

 _She's in the library. Go to the library._ The voice gets louder and louder until in drowns out my thoughts. What is this? _Who_ is this?

"God?" My voice is incredulous. Why would God speak to me like this? I mean, come on, let's be real here. Most teenagers don't have voices in their head directing them to go to obscure rooms in a church. "Maybe I'm just imagining it," I mutter under my breath.

 _You know what she's going through. You can comfort her. I will help you, Tobias. I'm always with you._

I sigh. Might as well find out if this voice, God or not, is telling the truth. I jog to the library.

Tris?

She's curled up on one of the couches, her finger moving over words of the Bible she holds in her hands.

I stand in the doorway, watching her for a second. Then I send up a silent prayer. Thanks for helping me find her, God. Now give me the right words to speak.

 _You're welcome, and of course I will._ I chuckle a little. At the sound, Tris looks up, surprised. "Tobias," she says, standing up.

"Uh." I rub the back of my neck. This is hard, but God's here, right? "What're you reading?"

"Oh." She looks back at the Bible she left on the couch and opens it up again, sitting down. "Just something someone marked. John 16:33."

I motion to the couch. "Can I sit down?" She nods, and I sit next to her, careful not to touch her. "So what does it say?"

" _I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world."_ She closes her eyes for a minute. Then she opens them, meeting mine. "I have peace. I can overcome the world."

I don't think she's getting the right message out of this verse. "You? By yourself?"

She blushes. "What, you think I'm just some silly little girl who can't stand up for herself? Who can't get through my troubles?"

I shake my head, choosing my words carefully. "Yes, I do. But then, so am I. I can't get through my troubles, either."

"What do you mean?" She narrows her eyes.

I smile. I had this exact same problem, and Max helped me with it. It makes me happy that I can, in turn, help someone else. "Neither of us can get very far ourselves. But it's when we rely on God that true strength comes." I nudge her with my shoulder lightly. "I have no doubt that you'll have any problems getting through trouble when you have that kind of power on your side."

Tris gives me a small smile. "Thanks, Tobias."

"No problem. Also, I just want to let you know that Christina got our entire group to comb the church looking for you."

She gasped, laughing. "What?"

I laugh along with her. Her smile is infectious. "It's true. In fact, I was supposed to text everyone that I found you as soon as I walked in here. But I figured you wouldn't really want Christina pouncing on you and ripping your ears to shreds with her squeals."

Tris slaps my arm lightly. "Hey, watch it! That's my friend you're talking about there!" She leans in, and I find myself leaning in too. "Though I do think she can dial down the squealing a little," she whispers conspiratorially.

"Yeah, just a little," I reply, holding my hands apart as far as they can go.

"Tobias!" I turn around and Shauna's in the doorway. "You didn't text us!"

I shrug and exchange a smirk with Tris. "Sorry."

We both hear a familiar squeal. "Tris! Don't you ever do that me again!" She immediately hugs Tris tightly, dragging Tris up with her.

"You were right. Pouncing and squealing," Tris says to me, still crushed by Christina's hug. "I'll make sure I take your word next time. Hey Chris?"

"Mm?"

"I'd like to keep breathing, if that's okay with you."

Christina reluctantly lets her go, and she extends a hand to me. "Getting up?"

I take her hand and get up. My hand feels like it's on fire. I snatch it away as soon as I'm upright. "Sorry," I mumble.

Tris looks at me confused, and then turns to Christina. This time, it's Tris who hugs Christina, albeit lightly. "I'll see you guys on Sunday. I have to go." She holds up her phone with the time. "Youth group ended five minutes ago." She glances at me for a second, and then smiles at Christina. "Bye!" With that she walks out the door.

I stuff my hands in my pockets, ready to go as well. Then I look up to see Christina smirking at me.

"Don't worry, I won't tell." She grins before leaving.

What just happened?

 **A/N See? I told you I'd make it all better. Thanks for reading, and tell me how you liked the past chapter! Four reviews before the next one. See you guys soon!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N So, I'm a bit disappointed because I haven't gotten a single review yet. As you guys know, I need four reviews to continue. So all you guys have to do is just write a review! It can't be too hard, can it? I'll even make it easier on you and lower it to three. But if I don't get them, I WILL NOT CONTINUE. I'm sticking to my word.**

 **As for the people who have reviewed in the past, keep reviewing and giving me critique!**

 **I'm just going to use this time to personally reply to all my reviews, to thank those who have been reviewing my story.**

 **Keeper: YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW ENCOURAGING YOUR REVIEWS ARE. Seriously, every time I read one of yours I smile! Keep reviewing and shining the Light, because I can totally tell you have it in you :)**

 **ais116: Thank you so much! That really means a lot. I didn't know how my story was going to be received with all of the Christian influences I put in there, so I was very happy to see that there are some people that enjoy it :) I was also nervous to write on this site because I never thought my writing would be on par, but hearing this from you gives me some much-needed confidence!**

 **firebooks100: Thanks! I'm glad I found another person that loves Jesus. As for it being a creative story, I gotta be honest with you, I'm basically basing the entire story off my own experiences at youth group. I've always imagined how it would be if Tris, Tobias, and the rest of the gang went to my church, and then I was like "HEY LET'S WRITE A FANFICTION!" xD**

 **PansycakeEater46: I think your story's pretty great too ;)**

 **I can't really distinguish between guest reviews so I'm just going to reply as if you're all one person lol.**

 **Guest reviews:**

 **-Yeah, I didn't agree with the whole "I have the strength" thing either. That's why we have a certain blue-eyed boy to help Tris out!**

 **-I totally agree, Christian stories are kind of hard to find on a site like this (besides on the Bible page, of course). That Bible Study idea is GOLD and I will definitely use it soon! And okay, I'll definitely try to add more of Christ in it...thank you for pointing that out, because that is a big concern of mine!**

 **-Already replied to this one, I don't live in Oregon, sorry :( I used to live in California though...now I live on the other side of the country in Maryland haha.**

 **-Yeah, I'll continue WHEN I GET THREE REVIEWS (hint hint)**

 **Okay, that should be it. I hope to see you guys soon...but it's in your hands right now!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N Phew! You guys finally made it! Here's a chapter, as promised. Divergent is owned by Veronica Roth. Not me. I wish… Actually no, then I'd be extra guilty about a certain plot twist. *nudge nudge***

I climb into Mom's car. Caleb's not here yet, so I decide to take advantage of it and slide into the passenger seat.

Mom smiles at me. "How was youth group, sweetie? As good as it was back in Abnegation?"

Though the last bit with Marlene and Lynn definitely put a damper on the night, it doesn't hinder the truth. "It wasn't as good. It was so much better!"

Mom ruffles my hair. "That's my girl. Now where's my boy?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen him since you dropped us off at the beginning of the night."

Just then, we see Caleb coming out, a girl hanging off his arm and two boys surrounding him. I recognize one of them as Peter, the guy who confronted me and Christina. Immediately I feel angry towards my brother. Can't he see past Peter's façade?

Caleb climbs into the back of the car, all smiles as Mom presses the accelerator and we drive off. She makes eye contact with him in the rearview mirror. "Someone's popular."

Caleb leans back. "Oh yeah. Met some people today. Peter and Eric."

"Who was the girl?" I ask.

"Cara. She's great, Mom, you'd love her."

"Am I going to have to meet her in the future?" Mom arches an eyebrow.

He blushes. "We'll see."

I decide to confront Caleb about Peter right now, so that he can't back out. "So this Peter guy…you think he's nice?"

He shrugs. "I mean, I guess. Why?"

"He came up to me and started making jokes about me and my friend being homosexual, and then he started hitting on me. I don't think that's a good combination."

"Oh, Beatrice, let's be real," he said, rolling his eyes. "You were probably asking for it."

I felt my jaw drop. "What did you just say?"

My mom frantically looks at both of us. "Do you guys want to listen to some music or something?"

"Come on, as soon as you walked in there you were acting like a completely different person. Being so…free." Caleb's eyes narrow. "You weren't being yourself."

Anger begins to build up inside of me. "What's that supposed to mean? That I'm supposed to be locked in some cage of emotions the rest of my life? That I'm never supposed to show the real me, but be stuck in some costume that confines me? That 'being myself' means being someone completely different?"

Mom tries to interrupt again. "I don't think-"

"You don't know your place in this world, Beatrice. Girls are supposed to be quiet and studious. They're supposed to just cook dinner, do the dishes, wash the clothes, and take care of the children. They don't talk without someone else's consent. They don't dance with friends. AND THEY ESPECIALLY DON'T TALK BACK TO THEIR OLDER BROTHERS!" He crosses his arms, fuming, as dead silence fills the car. I can't believe my own brother is saying these things. I never knew he thought this way.

Mom pulls the car over to the side of the road. "Caleb. Take a walk."

"What?"

"We're close enough to our house where you can safely walk there. And I have no doubts that your pure masculinity can protect you as well." Her mouth is pressed into a firm line. I think Caleb forgot that there was another woman in the car.

Caleb got out with a huff and slammed the door. Mom looked at me and smirked. "The boy needs to refine his words a little."

I force a smile and then stare out the window as she resumes driving. Caleb's words are still bouncing around in my mind. Maybe he has a point.

"Don't even think about it, Beatrice." I jump. Did she read my mind or something?

Mom laughs. "I'm almost exactly like you. I know how I would react." Her face grows serious as we pull up to the house. "Honey, I know this past year has been hard on you, and you've been so brave." She cups my face with her cheek comfortingly. "I know he doesn't show it, but Andrew loves you. He really does." I sigh and get out of the car. I'm not in the mood to discuss Dad right now.

I drop my Bible on my nightstand and take my phone out of my bag. There's a text.

 _Hello, this is your conscience speaking_

I freak out for a little while before I remember that I gave my phone to Christina. Phew. I don't know what I would have done if it was Peter.

 _T: Hey Christina what's up?_

 _C: Nmu?_

 _T: My brother was being all weird in the car…sexist, too_

 _C: um nooooo you don't just do that, tris's bro! what did he say?_

 _T: how im supposed to be all housewifey and stuff_

 _C: ugh. I would hate that._

 _T: ikr. wish u were there!_

 _C: oh btw, what's up with u and Tobias?_

Tobias? What does he have to do with anything?

 _T: Uh, I have no idea. what are you talking about?_

 _C: ur in denial, but nothing misses these eyes ^_^_

Okay, this is getting strange. I have no idea what she's talking about.

 _T: Seriously chris, what's going on? I don't have a clue_

 _C: you guys seemed pretty friendly today in the library today, aaaand he forgot to text all of us_

Oh, that's what she's talking about.

 _T: lololol you think we're an item? that's the funniest thing I've ever heard, seriously_

 _C: well you haven't said im wrong yet!_

 _T: I'll put you to rest. he was just explaining some stuff to me, about relying on God's strength. it definitely helped me a lot_

 _C: ooooh, mentoring. that seems suspicious._

 _T: oh yeah? because I think there's a certain Will who has caught YOUR eye :P_

I smirk when she takes longer to reply. Gotcha, Christina!

 _C: whatever, this isn't about me anyway. it's about you._

 _T: is it? cuz you haven't taken my word for anything so far!_

 _C: Tobias doesn't just talk like that to anyone, you know._

Her suddenly serious comment takes me by surprise.

 _T: Uh what? him and zeke seem pretty close_

 _C: zeke and him are different, they've been friends since their diaper days and they have a little bromance thing going on xD but he doesn't really talk to anyone else_

 _T: but he's in the band and he's a student leader, right?_

 _C: yep. I don't know how he does it. whenever I try and talk to him, he's kind of closed._

He's probably just introverted.

 _T: He's probably just introverted._

I have to say, I like this whole speaking my mind deal with Dauntless.

 _C: Yeah, that's what I thought. That's what everyone thought. But then u had to come and prove us all wrong ;P_

When I don't reply for a second, she sends another text.

 _C: You wouldn't mind if I gave him ur #, would you?_

I feel this weird sensation that whatever I text back Christina, whatever decision I make, will affect my life forever. But that's ridiculous. It's not as if a text decides my future. Yet I still feel a voice prodding inside my head, _this moment is significant._

 _T: Sure. I mean, why not?_

 _C: Great! Well I gtg but see you church on Sunday! byeeeee_

I put my phone on top of my Bible and lean back on my pillow. I hope I made the right choice.

 **A/N I don't know about you, but I can practically SEE the FourTris heading toward us! Also, I know this chapter was less God-oriented and more filler but I hope that's okay. Thanks for reading! Please review, as always** **J** **Are two reviews too much to ask? I don't think so. You have your work cut out for you!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N Thanks for the reviews guys! You guys were pretty quick this time, nice job. Next chapter, coming right up.**

I get a ride home from the Pedrads and open the door quietly. When I see that Marcus isn't there, I immediately run to my room and close the door. I'm lucky he's working overtime today; my talk with Tris plus the traffic made me fifteen minutes late.

Tris.

I lay back on my bed, thinking about her. No other girl has completely captured my attention like this. I just can't get her out of my head.

I take my phone and plug in some headphones, trying to drown out my thoughts with music. But it still doesn't work. What is with this girl?

I close my eyes for a second and when I open them, light is streaming through the window. I guess I drifted off last night. I check my phone for new text messages.

 _C: question for you, text me when you have time_

I ignore Christina's text. She's probably just trying to set me up with another one of her friends. If only it was Tris.

Wait where did that come from? I shake my head to clear it a little and read the next text.

 _Z: hey remember boys bible study. my house 12_

The blinking numbers of my clock read 11:42. I overslept.

"Oh geez," I mutter under my breath. I quickly get ready to go and am out the door by 11:54, apple in hand. Zeke's house is ten minutes away by walk, five if I sprint. But the first ten minutes are usually just all the guys stuffing their faces with Tori's Dauntless cake. I can miss that.

Who am I kidding? No I can't. It's Dauntless cake!

I run as fast as I can to Zeke's house. By the time I'm there, I'm more than a little sweaty, but the cake will fix everything.

I open the door and check the time. It's 11:57.

Bud, our bible study leader, is cutting pieces of cake for us all to eat. Tori always lets him bring us cake for our bible study. I take a fat slice and sit down next to Zeke on one of the couches.

When we're all seated, Bud clears his throat. "So how have you guys been?" We all mumble something along the lines of "good" and "eh" when Will says, "I have a question."

We all look at him. Will's probably the quietest next to me, and he never initiates discussion. Even Bud looks surprised. "Go on."

"So you know how Marlene and Lynn did that thing to Tris yesterday?" We all nod, even Bud. Apparently Tori told him about what happened. "How do we know what exactly to say in times like that?"

Bud leans back, thinking. "That's a good question, Will. Anyone else want to take that?" When no one responds, he says, "Flip to Acts 6. That should give you a hint."

We all pull up the Bible app on our phones. "Got it! It's verses nine and ten!" Uriah yells. " _But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and argued with Stephen. But they were unable to cope with the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking._ " He looked up at Bud in confusion. "I don't get it. It doesn't say anything on why Stephen was so…what's the word…wordy-nerdy."

Will laughs. "I think you mean eloquent."

"Whatever, word-nerd." Uriah sticks out his tongue at him. "Seriously though, can someone explain it to me?"

"The Spirit." Everyone looks at me, and I realize that those words just came out of my mouth. "Stephen was talking with the Spirit, which gave him wisdom."

Bud nods approvingly. "Yes, Tobias, you're right." He goes on to talk more about the subject, but I tune him out. I take myself back to yesterday, in the library with Tris. I don't think I could have come up with the explanation I did on my own. Was that the Spirit talking? And before that, when I was searching for her. Was that the Spirit too?

Before I know it, Bible study is over and I'm trekking back to my house. I'm still deep in thought when someone calls my name. "Tobias!"

I turn around and a smile grows on my face when I see that it's Zeke. "Hey man, what's up?"

Zeke gives me a _duh_ look and holds up my jacket, my phone, and my house keys, as well as a plate with a slice of cake on it. "Forgetting something?"

"Thanks, Zeke. I owe you." I shrug on my jacket and slip my phone and keys in it. I take the plate from him and see that the entire backside of the cake is gone. "Hey!"

Zeke gave me a sheepish grin. "I had to fight off Uriah to get this to you, so I figured I needed a reward." I roll my eyes and punch him lightly on the shoulder. His face suddenly grows serious. "But, dude, is something going on? Except for your unexpected answer in the middle, you were pretty zoned out the entire time. You even forgot to eat your cake. And something's up if Tobias Eaton isn't eating his cake."

"Um, no, everything's good."

"Are you sure?" Zeke raises an eyebrow. "You've been more than a little distracted lately."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine."

Zeke steps back, looking unconvinced. "Okay bro, but if you need anything, just ask." Suddenly we hear Uriah screaming from inside the house, "Get the animal off me! Get it off get it off get it off!"

Zeke shakes his head, laughing. "It seems like my little brother needs some help in there. See you on Sunday?"

"Yeah, see you then." I wave and turn back around.

"Oh and Tobias?"

"Yeah?"

"You might want to check your phone. It's been buzzing like crazy."

Sure enough, when I get home, it's full of messages.

 _C: Hello?_

 _C: I know u r getting these messages._

 _C: Will told me that your Bible study is over so u don't have an excuse._

Will, huh? Is something going on there? I smirk as I walk up the steps.

 _C: Well anyway I was going to actually be nice and help u but whatevs, just ignore me_

 _C: don't ignore me!_

That girl is crazy. I lay down in bed, still scrolling through messages.

 _C: pls pls plzzz I need this to happen_

What? What does she need to happen?

 _C: uri, did u steal his phone?_

 _C: zeke?_

That's the last text. Just then another one comes in.

 _C: ha! I know you've read them now. can't avoid me any longer_

I sigh. I really need to turn that feature off.

 _T: what do you want?_

 _C: no need to be all grumpy, geez. I was just wondering if you wanted a particular person's #_

Tris's number?

I mentally slap myself. What am I thinking? I don't even know her that well. Apart from our conversation in the library I've never even talked to her.

 _T: whose number?_

 _C: I need u to say the name first!_

Argh, Christina. Stop being such a pain.

 _T: Christina, I am giving you ten seconds to tell me before I tell Will._

There. That should get her.

 _C: whoa whoa whoa, let's not jump to threats so quickly! it's Tris._

I feel my palms start to get sweaty by just reading her name.

I've got it bad.

 _T: uh sure. is she ok with it?_

 _C: eh, probably. it's 301-401-8373._

I add the number to my contact list, leaving Christina hanging.

 _C: I think someone owes me a thank you._

 _T: yeah, yeah, whatever. thanks._

My fingers begin to compose a message to Tris. But what do I say? I go over a thousand different combinations in my head. None of them seem right.

I turn off my phone and groan. If this keeps going on, I'm going to be the next main character of a Nicholas Sparks novel.

 **A/N Looks like Tobias is really getting nervous there. Thanks for reading, and remember to review! Three reviews before the next update. See you guys soon (hopefully)!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N You guys don't deserve this (only 1 review) but I wanted to put this in, and it's super short anyway. Just some awkward FourTris fluff.**

 **I don't own any of this Divergent stuff, only my own ideas.**

It's after lunch when my phone rings. I pick it up immediately.

"Hey Christina, did you finally talk to Will?"

I heard a deep chuckle over the phone. Oops. I felt my cheeks burn.

"This isn't Christina, is it?"

"Nope." The voice is familiar, but I can't place it.

"Okay…then…who are you?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out."

I sigh and plop down onto the couch in my living room. "Okay then…Zeke?"

The person mock gasped. "I'm offended."

At once, I know who it is and roll my eyes. "Tobias."

"See? Instead of me telling you, I gave you the satisfaction of figuring it out yourself."

"That's ridiculous. So why exactly did you call, anyway?"

There's silence on the other end of the phone, but I can hear him breathing so I know he's there. "Hello? Earth to Tobias?"

"Yeah, I just...um, I called you to, uh, tell you that Christina gave me your number."

"Oh, okay, thanks, but she already told me."

"Cool."

We sit there in silence. "Is there anything else you need?" I ask.

"No, nope, I'm good."

More silence. This is getting awkward. "Hey Tobias, thanks for calling, but I have to go."

"Oh! Yeah, you…you do that."

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye."

I hang up and stared at my phone. That was odd.

 **A/N REALLY short I know, but I just wanted to have this little conversation in Tris's POV before I go back to Tobias's for it. Once this chapter and the previous chapter get three reviews (total) I'll add the next real chapter. Thanks guys, keep reading and reviewing!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N I think you basically know by now that Divergent doesn't belong to me, since I've been reminding everyone almost every chapter.**

I had been writing and deleting would-be texts to Tris for about an hour now, and it didn't seem like it was going to get any better. I just sounded so stupid in every single one.

 _Hey Tris._ That was too simple. Not to mention creepy that some unknown number knows who she is.

 _Hey Tris, guess who!_ Yeah, that's not going to work.

 _This is your conscience speaking._ I'm pretty sure that's what Christina sent me when she first got my number. Zeke and I had a good half hour laugh over that one.

 _Hey Tris, this is Tobias, and I was wondering if you wanted to maybe go out for a movie and dinner or something?_ As if she would say yes. I barely even know her, and I'm (almost) asking her out on a date.

I'm about to just take it simple and go with the first one when the doorbell rings. I jump, and my phone hits the ground. I quickly pick it up and look for scratches, but then I see that something worse has happened.

 _Calling Tris_

No. Nononono. This cannot be happening. I hesitantly put the phone up to my ear.

"Hey Christina, did you finally talk to Will?"

She thinks it's Christina calling? I can't suppress a laugh at that one.

"This isn't Christina, is it?" I can hear the embarrassment in her voice.

"Nope."

"Okay…then…who are you?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out." Yes! Good one, Tobias.

"Okay then…Zeke?"

I gasp in mock horror. "I'm offended."

I can practically hear her roll her eyes as she says, "Tobias?"

"See? Instead of me telling you, I gave you the satisfaction of figuring it out yourself." What am I even saying? It's like my mouth is just moving and my vocal cords are producing sounds on their own.

"That's ridiculous. So why exactly did you call, anyway?"

My mind races as I try to come up with an explanation. Apparently I've been silent for too long because I hear her say, "Hello? Tobias?"

"Yeah, I just...um, I called you to, uh, tell you that Christina gave me your number." I wince. That excuse was pretty cringe-worthy. I wouldn't even take that explanation.

"Oh, okay, thanks, but she already told me."

"Cool," I say, because I have nothing else to say besides that.

I hear her breathing over the phone. "Is there anything else you need?" she asks.

"No, nope, I'm good." What is with me? Why are words not coming out of my mouth properly?

I'm trying to think about what to say next when she interrupts my train of thought. "Hey Tobias, thanks for calling, but I have to go."

"Oh! Yeah, you…you do that." Nice job, Tobias, she probably thinks you're brain-dead now.

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye." I hear her hang up.

Then I hear someone pounding on my door. "Open up, man!"

I rush to the door and open it to find Zeke. "I am so sorry, I got distracted, and-"

"Save it." Zeke holds up a hand to stop me while he enters the living room. "I heard the whole thing through the door."

"You did?" This can't be good.

Sure enough, he grins. "You got it bad, boy. Tris, am I right?"

I nod and sit down on the couch. "I just can't seem to put together the right sentences when I want to talk to her! I don't know what's happening to me."

Zeke claps me on the shoulder, giving me a fake sympathetic look. "It's okay. We can't all understand the changes that are happening within our body."

I groan and shove him away. "That was really necessary, Zeke, thank you."

"No problem. But seriously, you do have a situation here that demands the services of the Zekemaster."

"The Zekemaster?"

He shrugs. "I'll come up with a better name later. The point is that I can help you with the whole Tris thing."

"You can?"

"Yeah. Well maybe not me by myself, but we can help you."

We? I don't like the sound of that.

Sure enough, within ten minutes, our bible study group is back together again. Uriah immediately comes up to me, grinning like a madman. "Who knew that the legendary Tobias would finally have a crush?"

I roll my eyes. "I could say the same for you, Uriah."

We all sit down in my living room while Zeke explains the "situation". Then they all proceed to give me advice.

Terrible advice.

"Speak your mind, that's what I do."

"Will, I've been doing that, and trust me, it's not going well. My mind is a ball of mush right now."

"Just go in for the kill!"

"Uriah, don't refer to girls as 'kills'. Please."

"Play hard-to-get."

"Zeke, the problem is that she doesn't want to 'get' anything, so playing hard-to-get wouldn't work."

This goes on for about five minutes before Uriah gets up and starts running around the room, hands in the air. "I got it! No one can beat this one."

I sigh. "Alright, let it out."

"You write her a song."

The room goes silent. Then Zeke gets up and noogies him on the head. "Uriah, I never knew you could actually have good ideas!"

Everyone laughs, but I'm deep in thought.

I'm going to write her a song.

 **A/N *sigh* awww…so cute. Anyway, I'm going to need Four (wink wink) reviews before the next chapter. Will it be hard? Maybe. Do I believe in you guys? ABSOLUTELY! After all, I do have the best R &Rers on Earth. Thanks for reading and see you guys soon!**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N For some reason the FanFiction website hasn't been letting me know who's reviewed…anyway, even if you guys didn't get to the goal I'm just going to post this chapter. I've missed you guys!**

I walk downstairs, yawning. Saturday mornings are always my favorite. Even though it's summer and the days just blend together, I remember Saturdays because every Saturday morning Mom makes French toast for me and Caleb.

Mmm. French toast. My mouth waters just thinking about it.

Today is our first Saturday here, but I still have no doubt that Mom will make French toast. It's an undisputable tradition that has prevailed through our frequent moving and our family problems. It's the one thing I can count on. The one constant that's kept me going. The one part of my life where-

"Hey, honey. Sorry, but no French toast today. I have job interviews all day, and I'm only going to get home late tonight." My mom smiled apologetically at me and rushed out the door.

Caleb, who's apparently already awake, smiles at me. "Don't worry, Beatrice, we can make it ourselves!"

"It's not the same," I grumble. I'm not ready to forgive him on what he said earlier either. I turn away to walk back to my room.

"Hey, wait, Beatrice!" Caleb calls after me. I turn around, crossing my arms.

"What is it?"

"Look, I'm sorry, okay? How many times do I need to tell you?" I just roll my eyes, turning back around again. It's going to take more than an apology for me to forgive him for that. Even Mom has been a little colder around him, which is highly unusual.

I climb back up the stairs to my room and pull out my phone. Since Wednesday, I've asked my mom if I can listen to some modern music, and she said yes. I've downloaded a plethora of new music. So far it all seems good!

 _And You  
Changed me from what I used to be  
Opened my eyes  
Now I can see  
You're making this life so beautiful  
So beautiful_

Caleb comes into my room and I sigh, taking out one of my earbuds. "What do you want now?"

Caleb glares at the floor. "Mom wanted me to tell you that you can drive the car whenever you want."

I raise my eyebrows. Caleb has been asking for car privileges since he got his license, but Mom always says he's too easily distracted. "And you?"

Caleb turns his glare to me. "No."

I smirk, feeling guilty but at the same time a bit glad. "Cool. Is that it?"

"No, Mom says you have to pay for gas."

"Thanks." I wave my hand to dismiss him like a princess, and he rolls his eyes and walks out of the room. As I sit thinking there, I realize that it's probably time for me to get a job. Gas is expensive, and I'm only going to be able to pay for it if I work.

I pull out my laptop and search for job openings around the area, but it seems like no one's willing to hire a high school junior with no prior work experience. **(A/N Prior…ha.)**

I groan in frustration when my phone buzzes.

 _Hey Tris, what's up?_

Tobias. I wonder what he wants.

 _TP: Um, nothing much I guess. I'm looking for a job but it's been fruitless so far. you?_

 _TE: Oh let me see if I can do anything for u!_

 _TP: you really don't need to do that for me Tobias!_

 _TE: too late._

Too late? What's that supposed to mean?

 _TP: what?_

 _TE: my boss has been looking for a new employee for a while now. It's a good thing that a potential person just signed up. ;)_

I laugh a little at the thought of big, muscular Tobias sending me a winky face, and then I realize what he's saying.

 _TP: You didn't!_

 _TE: Did!_

I immediately call him. "What are you doing?!"

"Getting you a job, obviously. I think you're supposed to say thank you, by the way."

I roll my eyes. He's so cocky sometimes. "I don't know if I should. What if it's a total bust? What if I'm terrible at…at…what's the job, anyway?"

"I think I should keep it a surprise just for you." I can practically hear him grin through the phone.

"Tobias, how am I going to work there if I have no idea what I'm doing?"

"Don't worry, you'll be a natural, I'm sure of it. You probably have a good taste in music."

Music? "So it's something involving music…"

"No! Well, okay, fine, yes. But I'm not telling you anything else about the job."

I sigh. "Fine. When's the interview?"

"Today at 4 o'clock, and I'm picking you up at 3:45. That way it can stay secret."

"You don't need to pick me up!" Not only do I not want to inconvenience him, but I have some selfish reasons as well. It's probably going to be super uncomfortable in the car ride there, and I don't think I want to go through that awkwardness.

"No, it's totally fine. I'll be there soon, okay?"

"I-"

"Bye, Tris." I hear a click and it takes all my restraint not to throw my phone across the room. I can't believe he just did that! For me!

Wait.

I can't believe he just did that.

For me.

 **A/N Kind of a short chapter, but yeah. I'm so sorry I haven't updated in a while! Keep reviewing…I don't know how long it'll take me to post the next chapter because school is pretty stressful right now (Let me just say: AP Physics :P). I'll try to update as soon as I can! See you guys soon!**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N The potential FourTris of this chapter was practically suffocating me, but I had to hold back a little, sorry. I want to build this up nice and slow.**

I drive up to a large house with a black mailbox that says PRIOR in blocky white letters. I quickly pull out my phone and send a quick text to Tris. _I'm outside, whenever you're ready._

A few seconds later the door opens and Tris runs out of the house toward the car. She's wearing dark rolled up jeans and a flowy white top with sandals. She smiles at me, and I feel my lips curving into a smile as well.

She gets in the passenger seat next to me and closes the door. "Hey."

I start the car. "Hey." I try to stay cool, but internally I'm just too excited. My voice squeaks a little at the end. I wince, and Tris raises an eyebrow.

"Did you just…squeak?" Now she looks ready to bust out laughing.

I nudge her lightly on the shoulder. "So what? I'm excited to show you your mystery job." Not to mention possibly work with Tris every day. Not only do I find myself extremely attracted to her, but I feel like she'd just be a great person to spend time with.

I groan inwardly. There's no one else to blame my sudden personality change on but Tris.

"Hello? Tobias?" It's only then that I realize she's been talking this entire time.

"Sorry…I was just, uh, thinking. What were you saying?" I feel a light blush start to rise in my cheeks, and I can tell Tris notices, but she doesn't say anything about it.

"I was just saying how I never actually thanked you about this." When I glance at her, her blue eyes are wide and staring at me, and I get lost in them. "So thank you."

I must've gazed at her for longer than I thought because soon she was screaming, "TOBIAS!" I looked up just in time to swerve around a tree.

Oops.

"I'm so sorry! I guess I just wasn't paying attention." How could I be so stupid?

Tris is pale, and her fingers are still digging into the armrest. "Uh-huh."

We stop at a red light and I take the chance to look at her. "I'm really sorry. You okay?"

She meets my eyes. "Yeah, just a little shaken up, I guess." She looks down, and I turn my focus back on the road. Nice job, Tobias, now she's never going to get into your car ever again.

The next five minutes pass in a thick silence. Finally Tris asks to turn on the radio, and I give her my phone. "Here, just pick a song on here. It's hooked up by Bluetooth." She unlocks my phone-I really need to get a password before Zeke does anything!-and scrolls through my music.

"I haven't heard of any of these songs." I glance at her and see that her eyebrows are scrunched together in concentration as she swipes her finger down the screen. "Do you have any suggestions?"

"Um, let's see, what music do you like?"

"I don't really know," she says quietly. "My dad never really liked music playing in the house, so I didn't really listen to music that much. I mean, I love it, but my dad…" she trails off, and I can tell this is a vulnerable spot for her.

"Hey, it's totally okay. I understand. I'll just have to expose you to the really good stuff today, huh?" I smile at her, and she gives me a small smile back.

"Okay. What song?"

I tell her to click on Best Day of My Life by American Authors. It's not a Christian song, but it's always been able to pick me up a little. As the familiar beat and guitar plucking begin to flow through the speakers, I can see Tris subtly nodding her head to the beat.

 _I had a dream so big and loud_

 _I jumped so high I touched the clouds_

 _Wo-o-o-o-o-oh, wo-o-o-o-o-oh_

 _I stretched my hands out to the sky_

 _We danced with monsters through the night_

 _Wo-o-o-o-o-oh, wo-o-o-o-o-oh_

 _I'm never gonna look back_

 _Woah, never gonna give it up_

 _No, please don't wake me now_

 _This is gonna be the best day of my life_

 _My li-i-i-i-i-ife_

 _This is gonna be the best day of my life_

 _My li-i-i-i-i-ife_

By the time we've pulled up to our destination, Tris has replayed the song three times and obviously loves it. We find ourselves belting the chorus as loud as we can, and the look of joy on Tris's face is one that I want to keep forever. So I do. I gently take my phone from her hands and take a picture of her, looking open, content, and happy. I show it to her as the song ends. "That's a keeper."

 **A/N Short chapter BUT I think it's allowed since I'm posting for the second time tonight haha. Thanks for reading!**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N All rights to Divergent belong to Veronica Roth. I only own my own ideas. Thank you guys for getting me more than 1,000 views on my story! You're the best** **J**

Tobias leads me into a gray nondescript building, and I have to say, it looks pretty sketchy from the outside. I follow him inside, a little on edge.

Tobias looks back at me and notices me creeping along like I'm robbing a bank. "Uh, Tris? What are you doing?"

I shrug, embarrassed. "No offense, or anything, but your mystery workplace looks really sketchy from here."

He laughs, and it's a nice sound to hear. "Don't worry, Tris, I'm not going to mug you or call my hitmen to do it for me. Come on." He holds the door open for me, and I step inside.

The first things I notice are the CDs. They're everywhere. Stacked up against the wall, in the bookshelves, teetering in towers on the tables. I have to pick myself around random CDs on the floor. "Is it usually this messy in here?"

Tobias just grins and leads me through a door behind the CD room. Here, it's a lot neater and quieter. Suddenly I hear a voice.

"This is Zeke Pedrad, and you're listening to 95.7 WBUJ, music for the independent mind." **(A/N First person to comment what movie that's from gets a shout out and a special surprise!)**

"I'm working for a radio station?" I almost scream. Zeke gives me a death look from inside the booth while Tobias covers my mouth with his hand. "Mmph mmph mmph!"

Tobias, with his hand still over my mouth, gently drags me back outside to the CD room. "I took you inside because I assumed you wouldn't freak out."

I shove his hand away and smile, crossing my arms. "Well, you assumed wrong. You got me a job at a radio station!" I jump up in excitement, but I land on a CD and slip. I try to grab the edge of a table, but there's another stack of CDs there, so those go crashing down and I fall. My back lands on more piles of CDs on the floor, and creates a domino effect of CDs.

It's deafening.

"Well, I didn't get you the job yet," Tobias mutters. I look up and see a man with blond hair cropped close to his head. He wears a look of disapproval.

I pick myself up, blushing, and stick out a hand. "Hi, I'm Tris. I'm so sorry about the mess!"

He takes my hand and nods. "I'm Eric. Your potential boss."

"Yes, I, um, I'm not usually like this. Just a little excited, I guess."

"Yeah, I could hear your enthusiasm from across the station," he comments dryly. I blush again.

Tobias speaks up. "Eric, this is the new employee I was talking to you about. I'm sure she'd be a great fit for the job."

Eric looks me up and down. "I'm sure. All I know is, before she even thinks of getting a job here, she's going to clean up all of this." With that, he leaves the room.

I look at Tobias. "Well, isn't he just a ray of sunshine and rainbows?"

"I wouldn't get on his bad side. He's not the most forgiving boss to work with. Sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about." I get down on my knees to pick up the fallen CDs. "I'm the one who should be apologizing. I probably just screwed up my chances. Thanks for the help, though."

Tobias gets down with me. "I wouldn't say so. He's desperate for new help. Usually people come in for a job and meet him, then quit. You're not going to quit like that, are you?"

I snort. "As if some twenty-something guy with a good glare can scare me off. No way." I notice that he's helping me clean up all the CDs. "You don't have to help me, I can handle it."

"I'm not helping you because you can't handle it; I'm helping you because I want to."

"No, it's alright, I got it." We reach for the same CD and I swat his hand away, picking it up and adding it to the growing stack next to me.

He takes his hand and holds it to his chest in mock pain. "My chivalry seems to be underappreciated here."

I lightly push his shoulder with my hand. "Oh, valiant knight, your efforts are much appreciated, but there's no damsel in distress for you to rescue here."

He takes my hand and stands up, pulling me along with him. "Then of what services does this blonde beauty in front of me require?"

My cheeks grow hot. Did he just call me beautiful? I mentally shrug it off. He's probably continuing the joke, nothing more.

I realize he's waiting for my answer. "Just your company, my lord." I give him a crooked smile.

"I'd be happy to oblige, fair maiden." He gazes at me like I'm the most beautiful girl he's ever met. He's a very good actor!

Suddenly we hear giggling from behind us. Zeke's slipped into the room with Christina, and they're trying hard to suppress their laughter. Tobias drops my hand and turns red, stuffing his hands into his pockets. My fingers feel cold.

Zeke walks to us and claps Tobias on the back. "Come on, man, your shift starts in a minute." They walk back to the booth together while Christina comes over to me and gives me a knowing look.

I busy myself with the CDs. "Chris, I didn't know you worked here!"

"I didn't know you worked here either." She bends down and picks up a couple CDs.

"Tobias found out I needed a job, and he asked Eric if I could work here. I haven't gotten the job yet though. Eric's still deciding, I think."

Christina raises an eyebrow. "How did he find out?"

"Oh, he just texted me this morning, asking me what's up. I was job searching at the time, and I told him."

She grabs my shoulders, forcing me to look at her. "Tobias texted you?"

"Yeah…" I look at her quizzically.

She shakes her head for a moment. "No, no, I mean, he texted you first?"

"Uh huh." I wrench my shoulders from her grasp. Surprisingly, I'm almost done with the CDs. "Why do you ask?"

"Tris!" she shrieks. I jump and look at her. "Don't you know what this means?"

"That he wanted to know how I was doing…?"

"No! Well, yes, but no. He likes you!"

I roll my eyes. "Christina, you're such a hopeless romantic. Just because he texted me first doesn't mean he's fallen head over heels in love with me."

"You don't get it. Tobias doesn't just _talk_ to girls like that." We've finished cleaning up the CDs, and she leads me to a corner behind a reception desk that's groaning underneath the weight of, you guessed it, more CDs. "Tobias tries to stay away from girls as much as possible, in fact."

"Why?" This is beginning to spark my interest.

She shrugs. "No idea. I mean, at school the girls practically throw themselves at him, but he's always been pretty distant and shoves them off. He's even distant to the girls in our small group. He mostly just talks to the guys, especially Zeke, of course."

"Maybe he had a bad breakup or something."

"I don't think so." Christina shakes her head. "He's always been kind of…estranged. It's only recently that he's begun to come out of his shell a little, being on student leadership at church and all. Usually, the most we see of the Tobias that could be is during announcements." She grabs my arm. "But then I saw you! He acts completely open around you. I don't know how you do it, Tris."

"I'm not doing anything."

"Really? Because that little Middle Ages skit you put on there didn't look like 'not doing anything'." She crosses her arms and lifts her eyebrows. Is she right? Were we flirting? I think back to when Tobias called me a "blonde beauty".

"Maybe. I'm pretty skeptical of your theory though, Chris. How about we get a bite to eat?"

She just laughs. "Oh, Tris. You think that by changing the subject you're done with this conversation." She slings her arm around my shoulders and we walk out of the station together.

 **A/N Hey guys, thanks for reading! Please comment some ideas on where you want this story to go, as well as any critique you have. If anyone can pick out the quote I pointed out, the first person will get an aforementioned special surprise! See you guys soon!**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N No one's said where the quote's from yet, so the challenge still stands. You guys have until chapter 20 to try to find it!**

Zeke takes me back into the booth, and the song that's playing is almost over. I get ready to go, setting up my mic next to Zeke's. Zeke and I usually do a two hour segment before he leaves and it's just me. I guess what Max sees in us at church Eric sees in us here at the station.

The song ends and Zeke puts on his radio show voice. "Good afternoon, listeners! Welcome back. I'm Zeke, and I'm with my loyal sidekick, Tobias. That song was _Fireblazin_ by Capital Kings."

I look down at the paper detailing the news and concerts we need to mention. "If you guys liked that song, there's actually a Capital Kings concert coming up in November! Tickets are on sale now so if you're interested, just go on their website, .com. Again, that's .com."

"So before we start the next song, we're going to have a caller session. You guys ask us questions, we'll answer them!" Zeke grinned and looked at me mischievously. This wasn't on the agenda.

"What are you doing?" I mouthed.

"These can be questions about us or advice. Whatever it is, we'll answer." Immediately, we had a caller. "This is 95.7 WBUJ, what's your name?"

"Hi, I'm…uh…Keirstin." The voice sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. "This is a question for both of you."

"Okay, shoot."

"Who are the people you guys have crushes on? Cliché, but we have to know!"

Zeke smirked at me again. "Well, my heart's pledged to my girlfriend Shauna. Babe, if you're out there, I love you!"

"Aww, that's so cute! How about Tobias?"

"I'd, uh, rather not say." I gulped. I hope Tris isn't listening.

"Oh come on! Zeke said that you have to answer."

Zeke wiggled his eyebrows. "That's right, I did."

Suddenly I realized what was happening. Was Zeke really trying to make me admit who my crush was on the radio by pretending to have a Q&A session with the listeners?

"Fine. I don't like anyone. That's a stupid question anyway." I crossed my arms. I'm not going to please Zeke and whoever this Keirstin person was by saying her name out loud.

"Hmm, you know what, guys? I think Tobias is _lying,_ " Zeke said in a sing-songy voice.

"No I'm not."

"Tobias."

"No."

Zeke huffed. "Then at least describe her."

I sighed. He wasn't going to leave me alone unless I said something. "Okay, what do you want to know?"

Keirstin laughed on the phone. "What do you like the most about her?"

"Um, well, I actually don't know her as well as I'd like to, but she's very kind and she's easy to have fun with. She's also the most beautiful girl I've ever seen…"I felt my mind wander to Tris' face. "Her smile lights up the whole room, and her laugh is like…man, there just aren't any words to describe it…" It's then that I realize that I'm in the station booth with Zeke and Keirstin. I look at him and realize I've said way too much.

"Toby's whipped!" Zeke throws his head back and laughs.

"I never thought I'd see the day," Keirstin says, with an edge that I've definitely hear before.

Wait a second. I don't know any Keirstins. But…

"Christina? Is that really you?"

There's a moment of dead air where the color drains out of Zeke's face and Christina just breathes.

"And now, for our next song." Zeke hurriedly slams the next song in and mutes the mikes, cutting off Christina. Without a word, I stand up and leave the booth. I can't believe they made me do that. They planned this entire charade.

"Zeke, I know you're following me." By now, we're in the CD room. I turn around, and there, sure enough, is Zeke.

"Look, I'm sorry, man. But this was the best way to admit your feelings about Tris. And it's not even like you said her name or anything."

"That was Christina!" I yelled back. "You don't think she's going to put two and two together? And she already seems pretty close with Tris, and it's been, what, 3 days?"

Zeke puts his hands up in surrender. "Come on, it wasn't that bad. And so what if she tells Tris the truth? It'll just make things easier."

"You don't get it!" I shout. "Tris doesn't even know me, and now she probably hates me. I just ruined my chances." I glare at him. " _You_ ruined my chances."

I attack him, and soon we're having an all-out scuffle, CDs flying everywhere. I feel strong arms separating us as Eric bellows, "Stop!"

We both scramble up and look down. This isn't going to be good.

"I ought to fire you both because of the things that have happened today! But, good news for you, I need experienced people here." Eric scowls at both of us. "Now clean up this mess and get out of here, I'll take the rest of your segment. I don't want you messing up the rest of the radio station."

As he walks away, Zeke grins at me. "Did Eric accidentally give us a break?"

"I'm not forgiving you yet," I say, looking away from him.

"Fine. Don't forgive me. But Christina and I just did you a huge favor."

"Really? How?" I challenged him.

"Hate to break it to you, buddy, but you didn't have the guts to tell her that in person."

"But it's not like she was listening in to the radio show or anything, right?" I catch sight of Zeke's face. "Zeke, tell me that she wasn't listening in. Please. I can take Christina, but I can't take Tris."

Zeke shrugs, smiling. "I don't lie to my friends."

"That's it," I growl, pouncing on him again.


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: All Divergent ideas belong to Veronica Roth.**

As soon as we get in the car, Christina turns on the radio. She doesn't say a word, but even after just a few days of knowing her I recognize the glint in her eye.

"Chris, what are you planning?" I raise my eyebrow.

She grins. "Oh, you'll see."

"Good afternoon, listeners! Welcome back. I'm Zeke, and I'm with my loyal sidekick, Tobias. That song was _Fireblazin_ by Capital Kings."

I roll my eyes. "Are you still trying to prove that for some reason I have a silly crush on Tobias?"

Christina doesn't answer and instead turns the volume up.

"If you guys liked that song, there's actually a Capital Kings concert coming up in November! Tickets are on sale now so if you're interested, just go on their website, .com. Again, that's .com." As Tobias' deep voice resonated through the car, I couldn't help but think about what happened at the station. Was Christina right? Did he like me?

Did I like him?

"So before we start the next song, we're going to have a caller session. You guys ask us questions, we'll answer them! These can be questions about us or advice. Whatever it is, we'll answer." Zeke's voice snapped me back to the present. Christina fumbled for her phone.

"No handheld devices when you're driving."

Christina let out a huff. "Okay, then, Miss Goody-Goody, you hold it up to my mouth, okay?" I sighed and held it for her while she called whoever she wanted to call.

"This is 95.7 WBUJ, what's your name?"

"Hi, I'm…uh…Keirstin," Christina says into her phone. Her voice echoes on the radio, and suddenly it hits me.

"Christina!" I whisper-yell. She just ignores me, a smile playing on her face.

"This is a question for both of you," Christina-Keirstin-says.

"Okay, shoot."

"Who are the people you guys have crushes on? Cliché, but we have to know!" She giggles into the phone, and I know exactly why she's asked this question.

"Well, my heart's pledged to my girlfriend Shauna. Babe, if you're out there, I love you!" I can practically hear Zeke's personality flowing through the radio.

"Aww, that's so cute! How about Tobias?"

"I'd, uh, rather not say." I gulped. Tobias…

"Oh come on! Zeke said that you have to answer," Christina pleads.

"That's right, I did." Zeke seems too happy.

Wait. Are Christina and Zeke plotting _together_?

"Fine. I don't like anyone. That's a stupid question anyway." When Tobias says this, I'm glad that I proved Christina wrong, but for some reason, a tiny part of me is also disappointed.

Still, I turn to Christina. "See? I told you." But she just looks to me with a finger on her lips.

"Hmm, you know what, guys? I think Tobias is _lying,_ " Zeke says in a sing-songy voice.

"No I'm not." It's then that I realize that Tobias sounds defensive. That tiny part of me soars. Zeke's right; he's lying.

"Tobias."

"No."

"Then at least describe her."

I heard Tobias sigh in defeat. "Okay, what do you want to know?"

Christina laughs. "What do you like the most about her?" I feel my eyes widen. This could either go very well or very badly.

"Um, well, I actually don't know her as well as I'd like to, but she's very kind and she's easy to have fun with. She's also the most beautiful girl I've ever seen… Her smile lights up the whole room, and her laugh is like…man, there just aren't any words to describe it…" Tobias trails off awkwardly. I bite my lip and look at my hands. It's not me. I'm not very fun, and I'm certainly not beautiful. My heart sinks.

"Toby's whipped!" Zeke laughs loudly.

Christina grins. "I never thought I'd see the day."

"Christina? Is that you?" Tobias' voice has an undercurrent of anger, and there's a moment of silence where I watch the color drain out of Christina's face. She hangs up without a word, and Zeke hurriedly puts on a new song.

I immediately turn off the radio. "Stop the car."

"What?"

"I said stop the car."

She pulls over to the edge of the road but keeps the doors locked. "Tris, please don't be mad at me."

I press my lips together and look out of the window.

"Tris…" She puts a hand on my arm. Something snaps inside of me.

"No!" I yank my arm away from her. "You barely know me. Tell me, what do you know?"

Christina's eyes are wide, shocked. "I mean…"

"You know nothing," I spit. "Nothing at all."

"Tris." Christina's voice is hard, firm. "I just made a simple phone call to a radio station. It's not a big deal."

"Yes, it is, Christina. You don't understand!" I put my head in my hands.

The silence was deafening. I felt a tear slip down my cheek and wiped it away with the heel of my hand.

"You know you can trust me with anything, right?" I turn to see Christina, her eyes soft and her voice quiet.

"I…" my voice breaks. "It's just…"

Christina nods after a moment. "You don't need to tell me what it is right now. You're right, Tris, I don't know you very well. But I'd like to."

"I'm sorry." I glance down to my intertwined hands, and then look back up at her. "I shouldn't have yelled at you."

"It's okay." She gives me a small smile as she starts the car again and pulls back out onto the road. "I know you'll tell me when the right time comes."

 **That's all for this chapter! Thanks for reading and please review :)**


	19. Chapter 19

**(A/N) A reader has asked me to make chapters longer, so I'm going to try to go as long as I can for this chapter. We'll see how it goes.**

I slam the door closed as I walk inside the house. Marcus hasn't been here in a while; I check the calendar and there's a business trip planned for the next three weeks. Good. At least I'll be able to enjoy a little of my summer.

I climb up the stairs and lie down on my bed, kicking off my shoes in the process. I can't believe I let Zeke do that to me. Tris probably hates me now. I glance at my phone in my hand. I could text her, but I don't want to risk it.

I've plugged my headphones in and decided to take a nap when suddenly my phone vibrates in my hand.

 _TP: hey, what's up?_

I immediately sit up, my back up against the headboard.

 _TE: just at home. eric kicked us out._

 _TP: haha why?_

Well, might as well tell her now.

 _TE: zeke made me say some stuff on air, so I got pretty mad. lets just say that we made a lot of noise._

She doesn't reply for a while, and I'm afraid that I've scared her off. I feel my mind flood with relief when my phone vibrates.

 _TP: yeah, I was listening to you guys today. so who's the lucky girl? ;)_

I rub the back of my neck. This needs to be treated delicately. She apparently doesn't know that it's her, which is good, but at the same time I have to figure out how to answer this question without pushing her away.

 _TE: I can't tell you, this time zeke isn't here to force me either :P_

 _TP: oh come on! you can trust me, I promise._

I almost tell her right then and there when Zeke calls me. I pick up, glad for the distraction. "Hey Zeke, what's going on?"

His voice is charged with excitement. "So you know how we've always wanted a keyboardist and a female vocalist for youth group?"

"Did we finally find one?"

"Well…no." I can practically hear Zeke's sheepish grin. "But we're holding auditions for them next Saturday. I've already posted it on Facebook."

I sigh. "We've had three years of unsuccessful auditions. What makes you think this one will finally get us some musicians?"

"I don't know, man. But I have a gut feeling about this one."

"That's what you say every year, Zeke."

"Yeah, yeah, you keep talking, Tobias. I'm telling you: we're finally going to find them this year."

"Whatever you say, Zeke."

Zeke just groans and hangs up. My phone goes back to displaying Tris' unanswered message. After a few moments, I call her. She picks up on the third ring.

"Tobias?"

"Hey." My voice sounds really high for some reason, but I choose to ignore it. Focus, Tobias.

"Is there something you wanted to tell me?"

"Yeah, actually."

She giggles over the phone. "So who is it?"

"Who is what?" I scrunch up my eyebrows.

"Your secret beautiful crush."

I never answered her text. We're still talking about _that_. Ugh. "You don't know her." The lie smoothly rolls off my tongue, but it still feels wrong lying to Tris.

"Oh. Okay." Is it just me, or do I hear a note of disappointment in her voice? "So what is it you wanted to tell me?"

"It's not so much as something to tell you as something to ask. By any chance, do you play an instrument?"

"Yeah, I do," she says, surprised. "How could you tell?"

"When you were listening to music in the car, you seemed like you were musical, even when you had never heard the song before."

"Wow, I didn't know you could tell something like that so easily."

"So what instruments do you play?"

"Well I've been playing piano since I was four, and singing for a while too. I've been taking guitar lessons for about five years too. Why do you ask?"

I was speechless. Was Zeke right? Is this year going to be the year that we finally get somebody to fill in the gap of our band?

"Tobias?"

"Sorry, I just zoned out a little. Next Saturday we have auditions for our band. You know, our youth group one."

"That's pretty cool. When is it?"

"At two, at the church. I can give you a ride if you want." And I'll be able to spend more time with her. It's a win-win situation.

"Sure, that would be great. Do I need to prepare anything?"

"Yeah." I rushed to my computer and clicked on Zeke's Facebook post. "What do you want to try for?"

"Probably pianist, but I can do vocalist too. I'm definitely more comfortable on keyboard though."

"Okay…let's see…" I scrolled through the list on the message. "For keyboard, the song you need to play is _Great Are You Lord_ by All Sons and Daughters."

"And to sing?"

"You need to harmonize to…wow. _Great Are You Lord_ by All Sons and Daughters. That's a coincidence."

"Alright then, I'll practice the song."

"Awesome."

I was just about to hang up when I heard her voice, timid this time. "Can I ask you something, Tobias?"

"Yeah, anything." I felt my heart speed up.

"Do you think we could maybe practice together for the audition?" I felt my heart deflate. Of course she wasn't going to ask you out, Tobias. You only just met her on Wednesday. Stupid, stupid…

Then I realized what she was asking. I could just picture us, nestled together on a piano bench, our voices intertwining into harmony, her shoulder touching my arm, her bright stormy eyes locked on mine -

"Hello?"

Not again. "Sorry, I, um, spaced out again. But I could do that."

"Cool. Can we meet at the church on Monday? I would meet with you earlier, but I don't have much time on my hands these days."

"Sure. I'll bring my guitar and there's a piano there for you to play on."

"Great. Bye, Tobias."

"See you." I finally hung up. Even though practicing a song over and over again on the piano wasn't exactly a date, I was glad I would be able to spend some more time with her. I glanced at my acoustic guitar, which was leaned up in a corner of my room. Its shiny exterior winked at me through the sunlight streaming through the window. I picked it up, digging an ever-present guitar pick out of my pocket. I slowly strummed through the chords of the song, which I had memorized a while ago. The song wasn't traditional at all, but it wasn't a total rock and roll song like _We Shine_. It's more like a heartfelt ballad. **(A/N You guys should check out All Sons and Daughters. Their songs are a lot more low-key but they're always very beautiful.)** I'm so engrossed in the song that I don't notice the front door open and then slam shut.

Suddenly, I hear footsteps coming up the stairs. I try to remain calm on the outside, but inside my heart is going double time. Marcus can't be back yet. His business trip is for another three weeks. But if it's not Marcus, who could it be? I set my guitar on the bed and feel my muscles clench as I go into defense mode. If there's a robber in the house, I'll take him down. The doorknob turns. I hold my breath.

Instead of the suspicious character clad in black that I expect, there's middle aged guy with salt and pepper hair staring at me. His eyes are the color of steel gray.

"Sorry. I thought no one was in here." He has the grace to look embarrassed.

"It's fine, but, uh, who are you?"

"Oh, right. I'm Andrew. Andrew Prior." The name Prior sounded familiar, but I pushed it out of my head. There were more important things to worry about at the moment.

"Why are you here?"

"Your dad sent me to check on you." Marcus sent somebody to check on me? Why? "He said he wanted to make sure you were…doing what you're supposed to be doing." He turned away and muttered under his breath, "And his assistant has to do all of his petty personal work, of course."

I ignored the last part. Marcus was practically infamous on making employees do random jobs for him rather than the company he worked at. "So what am I supposed to be doing, exactly?"

Andrew shrugged. "I don't know. Just not having parties and getting drunk and high and all that stuff. You've probably heard the lecture before." He eyed me out. "You seem to be a good kid, though."

"I guess, sir."

"Sir." He laughed. "I'm sure you could teach my daughter some manners. She has quite the attitude."

I didn't really know what this had to do with me, but I just nodded.

"In fact, maybe you could come over to our house with your father sometime. Teach that poor girl the right way to act. Marcus did a good job raising you."

I severely doubted that.

"Thank you for the offer, sir. I'll take that up with him." Not.

"Right." He nodded once, as if to clear his head, then stood up and walked to the door. "It was nice to meet you…"

"Tobias."

"Yes. It was nice to meet you, Tobias." He squinted a little and looked at me. "It's strange…your dad has never mentioned your name, just the fact that you're his son."

I'm not surprised. "Just an oversight, I'm sure."

"Good bye, Tobias. I'll see you in a few days."

I stood up and showed him the door, mumbling respectful farewells as we walked. I shut the door behind him and leaned against it, sliding down to the floor. What was Marcus' deal? He's never sent anyone to check on me like this before. He usually just forgets about me until he comes home, and then…

I shiver. Don't think about what happens next.

I trudge back up the stairs, my good mood from my talk with Tris drained away. I peek at my phone. Her text still glows on the screen.

 _TP: oh come on! you can trust me, I promise._

Tris is definitely a special girl. No one's ever had this kind of hold on me since…yeah, no one's ever had this kind of hold on me. I don't want to scare her off with my past. I'm guessing that family problems aren't exactly an ideal quality in a boyfriend. I'm sure, externally, she'd be really nice about it; internally, though, I know she'd be freaked out. As much as I want to trust her, I don't want to risk our friendship. I sigh and pick up my guitar again, strumming chords. I just hoped she wouldn't find out about all of this. I've kept it hidden, and it's going to stay that way.

 **A/N And there ends that chapter! Phew. I wrote that all in one sitting. Someone guessed where the radio station is from (Pitch Perfect!) but unfortunately that reviewer is a guest…anyway I'm just going to go by honor code and say this: whichever Guest reviewer gave the right answer, type up a review with the following things:**

 **Name of a Character , Personality Traits, Strengths, Weaknesses, Age, Relation to a character already in the story**

 **That's right! I'm going to be developing an OC through the character you made up. The OC probably won't have a big part in this story but he or she will be represented in the plot. Happy reading (and writing)!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Sorry for not updating for so long guys. Between school, church, youth group leadership, band practice, family...ugh things are just so hectic right now. Along with that, I'm lacking some inspiration for this story.**

 **SO I'm reaching out to you guys! Where would you like to see this story go? What characters would you like to be more incorporated? Any key events from Divergent you want in here? Any other plot events you can think of that will go well with the story? An author is nothing without her readers, and I think that you guys can be much more qualified to write than I can sometimes. Comment/review your suggestions and I'll work on updating as soon as I can.**

 **I love you guys! Be brave!**

 **~skutti2000**

 **PS: I'm starting a new Eric x OC fanfic that I've been working on for a while now. This one isn't going to really have a Christian theme or anything and it's going to be set in the regular Divergent world but I'm excited! Just wanted to give everyone a heads up lol.**


	21. Chapter 21

_****A/N Sorry it's been so long! This chapter kind of wrote itself so I decided to put it up.****_

 **TRIS**

I'm feeling pretty worn out after my busy day. After the fiasco with the radio station, Christina dragged me around shopping. My eyes almost popped out of their sockets when I saw how much everything cost, but Christina seemed to be unfazed. Finally I dragged her to a consignment store next door. I got tons of cool clothes for less. Christina was a little out of her element there, but eventually she was able to overcome her differences and pick out some cute outfits. I've got to say, she's got an eye for that kind of stuff. I'm not really much for fashion, but she's pretty into it.

I kick off my shoes in front of the door and run into Mom. She looks stressed. "Mom, what's going on?"

She stops for a moment and takes a breath. "Your father is in town, and he's coming for dinner. I have so much to do…" With that, she rushes off, leaving me with questions. Dad coming home is always a big deal. When he comes, that is. Often, he says he will and then will just blow us off. There's been many a night where we sit around the dinner table, tears pouring down Mom's face as she serves us a fancy home cooked meal in a dress while Caleb looks miserable in his tie and an empty chair threateningly stares at us. Mom always makes us dress up for these things, which I don't understand. He's our father. He, of all people, should be seeing us as we are. But I guess he's not our father. Not really.

I sigh and climb up the stairs, my footfalls heavy. I haven't seen my father in months, ever since he started working for Marcus Eaton, the CEO of Abnegation Inc. It's supposed to be an organization dedicated to serving others, but based on what I've seen and heard it has definitely pulled in a profit. I've met Marcus once, and I didn't like him. There was just something off about him, and I couldn't put my finger on what.

I take out the dress I've worn every single time he's come to dinner. It's gray, the hem hitting a little below my knees, and is cinched at the waist. As I put it on, I realize that I've grown so that it hits at the knees, not below it. I sigh. It will have to do. I bought a purple dress with Christina today that I could wear, but Dad-if I can even call him that-doesn't like us to be wearing bright colors. He says it's not professional. That's why most of my wardrobe is made up of neutrals.

I pull up Pandora on my phone, and soon there's some light violin music playing through my room. I silently finish dressing and brush my hair. My blonde waves hang down on my back. I slide a gray headband into my hair to hold it back and walk down the stairs, making sure to turn off the music before I leave.

Downstairs, Caleb and Mom are quiet. Even though there's no noise, however, the tension in the air is almost suffocating. Mixed emotions swirl throughout the room as I help Mom cut up green beans and Caleb sets the table. He's due any minute now. If he ever comes.

* * *

 **TOBIAS**

I'm just about to eat some cereal for dinner when I get a text from a number my phone doesn't recognize.

 _Hello Tobias, this is Andrew Prior. We met today. If you're free tonight, I'd like to invite you to dinner at my house._

I look back at my miserable bowl of cornflakes.

 _TE: Sounds good, when should I come over? Can I have your address as well, please? Thank you for inviting me._

 _AP: We usually have dinner at 7. I can pick you up._

I never liked cornflakes, anyway.

I run up the stairs. What are you supposed to wear to someone else's family dinner? I don't know Mr. Prior, so I decide to go classy casual. Dark blue button down with rolled up sleeves. My black Vans seem to be casual enough for the occasion.

At 6:45 sharp, I hear the doorbell ring.

I open the door to find Andrew Prior, car keys jingling in one hand. "Hello, Mr. Prior."

"Tobias, it's nice to see you again. I hope I'm not taking you away from anything."

"Not at all. Thanks again for inviting me."

He chuckles. "Marcus really brought you up well. I wish that my children were this polite."

I feel myself inwardly cringe at the mention of Marcus's name, but Mr. Prior doesn't seem to notice. "Oh, um, thanks. Should we get going?"

"Of course, of course." He unlocks the car doors and I climb into the passenger seat. Classical music plays on the radio. The drive there is filled with small talk. I try to steer clear of any questions about Marcus and try to redirect his questions toward him. I learn that the Priors are new to the area, though his wife and kids have been here longer than he has. I find out that he has two children, a boy and a girl, and they're both my age.

The last part sounds oddly familiar, and I realize what it is when we pull up to a mailbox with the name Prior in large block letters. I can't believe I didn't piece it together before.

Tris. Tris _Prior_. Andrew Prior must be her father. I feel my hands start to sweat. At least I made an effort on my appearance.

A blonde woman opens the door, and it's plain to see that this is Tris' mother. While she doesn't have Tris' alluring eyes, the shade of hair is almost identical, just with streaks of gray and white. She smiles at me, a tired smile with bags under her eyes. "Hello, Andrew." Her voice is clipped as she turns to him, straightening up a bit. "How are you?"

"Doing well." He nods to her, and I watch this exchange closely. It's plain to see that the Prior parents have a strained relationship, if they have a relationship at all. Then I feel eyes on me.

"And who's this you have brought with you?" Mrs. Prior smiles at me again, exhausted but nevertheless full of warmth. I'm astonished that she's so nice to me, especially since she's just met me.

I stick out my hand. "My name is Tobias. Tobias Eaton."

She shakes my hand. _Now that's a firm grip._ "It's nice to meet you, Tobias, I'm Natalie."

"And you as well." After some pleasantries, Natalie-Mrs. Prior-leads us into the kitchen. Inside, a brown haired boy with green eyes looks up from setting the table. He doesn't seem to notice me as his gaze settles on his father.

"Father." He nods, but it's obvious that the father-son relationship is even more strained that that of the parents. "It's nice to see you." The missing " _again"_ hangs forebodingly in the air, like a raincloud ready to burst.

Then he notices me. "Hey, I know you. You're that guy from youth group. The one who did announcements." He reaches out his hand to shake. "Caleb Prior."

I take it. "I'm Tobias, nice to meet you."

Suddenly I hear footfalls on the stairs. "Mom, did I hear the door open?"

Tris steps out from the stairs, her hair shining in the light. She's wearing a gray dress that looks amazing on her, and for a second my breath is taken away.

"Tobias?"

I snap back to the present. "Hi, Tris. Your dad invited me to dinner, I hope that's okay."

"You don't have to ask for my permission to come over for dinner, Tobias." She giggles, and I grin at her.

Meanwhile, Andrew is looking back and forth between us. "You two know each other?"

Tris nods. "He goes to my youth group. He plays guitar and everything."

"Well, not _everything."_ I feel a blush rise into my cheeks.

"Oh, so you're the young man that's helping Tris out with her audition for the band?" Natalie smiles approvingly.

"Yeah, that's me. I hope that's okay, Mrs. Prior. I know Tris mentioned that she doesn't usually listen to contemporary music at home."

She laughs. "By all means, it's definitely okay! And please, call me Natalie. Mrs. Prior makes me feel twenty years older." She winks, and I instinctively smile.

Unlike me, however, Andrew's frown seems to be growing. "I don't think it's okay, actually. Tris, why would you defy me like this?"

Tris' smile fades as her eyes flash. _Storm warning_. "What?"

"Contemporary music is _still_ banned in this home. Natalie, what were you thinking?"

"Excuse me?" Tris whirls on Andrew, fists clenched. "I don't think you should be criticizing Mom. If there's anyone that should be criticized, it's you, _Andrew._ "

A vein throbs in Andrew's forehead. "Why you insolent little-"

Natalie steps in front of Andrew, hands up in surrender. His eyes widen as he looks at her, and she takes a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Andrew, I'll make sure not to make the mistake again. Now why don't we have dinner?" Her gaze flickers to me. "We have guests."

Andrew's green eyes calm a bit as they all sit around the dinner table. I slide into a seat between Natalie and Tris. It's obvious that they forgot I was there, and now the awkward air is suffocating. Tris stares down at her plate, her ears red. Caleb, who sits on Natalie's other side, glares at me. Andrew keeps his mouth pressed in a firm line.

I see a tear slip out of Natalie's eye, and she wipes it off her cheek quickly. Then she meets eyes with me, and I drop my eyes down to my lap.

"Let's say grace." Her voice is a little choked up, but no one says anything. They all grab hands to pray, and I follow suit. Tris' hand is cool in mine, and I can't suppress the jolt of electricity that enters me when I touch her, even if we are just praying before a meal.

After we say Amen, everyone digs into the meal. Dinner at the Prior household is a silent and solemn affair. The only sounds are silverware clinking on porcelain and faint chewing. After what feels like a lifetime, Caleb clears his throat. "So, um, Dad, I was looking at colleges and I think I want to graduate early."

Andrew smiles and nods approvingly. "Good choice, Caleb. Any places you're looking at in particular? What major?"

"Physics."

"It's a growing field, so that makes sense." Andrew turns his gaze to Tris, and I see her squirm out of the corner of my eye. "Tris, you have it all figured it out as well?"

"Um." Tris kept her focus on the pasta littering her plate. "I'm not sure yet."

"Not sure yet?" Andrew is still smiling, but his voice is piercing. "You're a junior in high school. You should know by now." He turns to Caleb. "Thank God at least one of my children will turn out well."

Tris balls up a napkin, her knuckles white as she clutches it. "May I be excused?"

"You certainly may not." Andrew's head snaps to Tris, and she fidgets again.

"So, Tobias, any idea what you want to go into?" Natalie's voice cuts through the tension, and I relax a little.

"Yeah, I would like to go into computer science, especially cybersecurity. There's a lot of jobs out there for it, and I enjoy programming."

"Programming?" Tris scrunches up her nose. "I didn't think you'd be one for that."

"Why?"

She blushes. "I don't know...you just don't seem like the type."

I laugh. "Then what _is_ my type?"

"Uh, like, I don't know, CEO of some large organization or business." My smile fades as she describes my apparent future occupation. "Tobias, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." I look away from her, studying my plate.

"Tobias, your father said something about taking over the company after his retirement. What about that?" Andrew takes a forkful of pasta and puts it in his mouth.

"Taking over the company?" Tris looks back and forth between us.

Caleb nods distractedly, stuffing pasta into his mouth.. "Yeah, Tris, didn't you put it together? Tobias is Marcus Eaton's son."

Sudden realization dawns on her face. "Oh...Eaton…like the organization that our father works for..."

"Yeah." I scratch the back of my neck, and then realize it's time to leave before any more questions are asked of me. "Natalie, Mr. Prior, it's been lovely, thank you for having me."

Natalie nods once. "Of course, Tobias. You're welcome back any time." _Doubt it._ This was way too awkward for me. Actually, Natalie seems nice, and Tris is obviously great, but there seems to be a deep rift between the two of them and Caleb and Andrew.

Andrew begins to get up. "Tobias, I'll drive you home."

"No, that's okay. Spend time with your family." I plaster a smile on my face. "My house isn't that far away, I can walk."

"Are you sure? It's dark."

"I'll be okay." I assure him before turning to leave. I hear the scrape of a chair on the floor behind me.

"I'll walk you out." Tris brushes off imaginary specks of dirt from her dress and she stands. Once again I'm struck by how naturally beautiful she is, inside and out.

"Sure." She walks me out to the porch, closing the door behind us. Then she collapses on one of the chairs on the front porch.

I sit down next to her, careful not to touch her. Her face is cradled in her hands. "Tris, you okay?"

"Y-yeah, sorry, I just need a break. You can go ahead. I'll see you Monday?" Her voice cracks at the end, and I realize she's crying.

I have no idea what to do.

"Hey, Tris, shh, it's okay." I start to put my arm around her, but decide against it, thinking this may not be the best situation to initiate first contact. "I get it."

She raises her tear-streaked face to me, and my heart shatters. "You do?"

"Yeah." I set my head on my hand, my elbow digging into my thigh. "Let's just say my family life isn't much better." I stop there, knowing I've already said too much.

"I just…" She rakes a hand through her hair. "Nothing I do seems to make my father proud. I always do something wrong, something to set him off. He's not even home most of the time. Today was the first day he's been back in months."

"Oh." The realization that I intruded into a fragile event hits me like a stack of bricks. "I had no idea. I'm sorry."

She shakes her head. "No. I'm glad you were there." Her face splits into a smile. "You made things a little better. Though I'm kind of embarrassed." She looks down.

"Hey." I lay a hand on her shoulder, taking a risk. Tris' gaze flickers from my hand to my eyes. "You shouldn't be embarrassed. I know I'm not really in the place to say, but-" A small smile arranges itself on my face. "They're proud of you, Tris. Your mom is. I am. God is. And if other people can't see that they should be proud of you, it's their loss."

At that, she crumbles, putting her arms around me and sobbing into my shirt. I wrap my arms around her and just hold her. I can't believe someone would hurt her like this, not to mention her own family. I just want to take all that pain off her shoulders, but I know I can't. I'm not capable of that. The only person that can is Someone she has to let in herself.

 _ **Thanks for reading! You guys are the best. I know it's been a while. I've been super stressed with school, extracurriculars, and a whole host of other things. I know this isn't an excuse. However I am not giving up on this story! Please R &R, it's your reviews that convince me to keep going. See you later! ~skutti2000**_


	22. Chapter 22

**TRIS**

It's Monday, and I'm nervous.

Dinner was awkward, to say the least. I was surprised Dad showed up, but I was unsurprised to hear all the comments from him. Of course, they got to me like they always do, but I had already braced myself. But there was something that I was not ready for.

Or really, some _one_.

I still have no idea why Tobias came. My dad was probably gunning for a promotion by getting in with the boss's son. He did seem pleased by Tobias' politeness. But it was so awkward with him sitting there while our family fought, and especially on the porch. I can't believe I let myself break down in front of him for the second time.

Speaking of which, Tobias is supposed to pick me up, and then we'll practice at the church. He said he'd text me once he's here. I fiddle with the hem of my shirt. I spent hours picking out the right outfit before finally settling on a band T-shirt, jeans, and Vans. Mom let me go shopping, so the band tee is totally new. _Capital Kings_ is emblazoned on the front, the EDM group that Tobias and Zeke introduced me to.

I suddenly hear the doorbell ring, and jump. I swing open the door to see Tobias with his hands stuffed in his pockets. "Tobias, hey! I thought you were going to text me."

"Yeah, I did. Multiple times."

I check my phone and realize it's been on silent. A couple text messages from Tobias pop up on the screen. "Sorry...I guess my phone was on silent."

"It's okay." He smiles. Then his eyes narrow on a point on my shoulder. "What's that?"

"What?" I inspect my shoulder, but I don't see anything.

"Turn around." I oblige, and suddenly I feel his fingers on my neck. I stiffen.

"Tobias, what are you-" Suddenly, I feel a pull on my shirt and hear a laugh behind me and turn around to see a smirking Tobias. "What?"

He holds up a tag, and I blush. I didn't realize I hadn't cut that off. "New shirt?"

"Yeah…" This cannot be going any worse.

"So I'm that important?"

"Huh?"

"I'm important enough that I deserve to see you in a new shirt." He winks.

I roll my eyes, but inside I'm a pile of mush. "Don't flatter yourself. Your head won't be able to fit through the door otherwise."

It's not long before we reach the church. Tobias takes out some keys and unlocks the front door. "You get a key?"

"Yeah." Tobias nods. "All the senior student leaders get one."

"So you're a senior then?"

"Yep! Well at least I will be once the school year starts. I'm definitely excited to move on from this place and head to college." He realizes what he's said, and frantically backtracks. "I mean, I love this church and my friends and all, but I...just need to get out of here." I just nod. Part of me is disappointed that I only have a year left to spend with Tobias.

We enter the huge youth room. There's a piano that I didn't notice before tucked in the corner, and he leads me to it. We squish together on the bench, and I try to repress the warm feeling that goes through my body when I feel Tobias' arm warm against mine. We sit there a moment, not saying anything. I let my mind drift, thinking about the worship set at youth group last week. I'm classically trained, so playing in a band will be a little different, I know. But they all seem so in tune with God and, I don't know, like a family. It's the same with our discipleship group. Will I ever fit in? And then I think about how Christina took me shopping and to lunch, and how Tobias helped me get a job and is even helping me with this audition. _Tobias._ Why is he doing all these things for me? I'm not pretty, so he must not like me. People that look like _him_ have girls galore without even looking at the small ones. So what's his motive here? I'd like to think that he's just a nice guy, but based on what Christina has told me, that's not exactly the case.

Suddenly I'm broken out of my reverie by a throat being cleared. I turn and look at Tobias, his eyebrows raised. His blue eyes practically swallow me whole. "You ready yet?"

"Oh." I readjust myself on the piano bench, flustered, and scoot a little away from him. My shoulder misses him already. "Yeah."

Slowly, I play the intro line. My hands are shaking and are sweaty, but I try my best. Then it's time to sing. I rally up the chords a little to signal Tobias to sing. And he does.

 _You give life, You are love_

 _You bring light to the darkness_

 _You give hope, You restore_

 _Every heart that is broken_

 _Great are You, Lord_

His voice, thrumming through the air between us, is beautiful to say the least. It envelopes you, filling the air with its pure, clean sound. Every note on pitch, and the tiniest bit of vulnerability that adds so much heart to the song. I almost stop playing right there. Am I even in the right league to do this? Then I remember my cue is coming up, and I open my mouth, praying to God that my voice doesn't crack as I harmonize.

 _It's Your breath in our lungs_

 _So we pour out our praise_

 _We pour out our praise_

 _It's Your breath in our lungs_

 _So we pour out our praise_

 _To You only_

* * *

 **TOBIAS**

 _It's Your breath in our lungs_

 _So we pour out our praise_

 _We pour out our praise_

 _It's Your breath in our lungs_

 _So we pour out our praise_

 _To You only_

As we repeat the chorus, I can't help but relish how our voices intertwine in the air. Her harmonies are perfect, and her piano playing is perfect. There are areas she could improve, for sure, like how she seems to be so agitated and stressful. But then again, that's probably a remnant from the fact that this is her only practice before the audition. As she plays the outro to the song, a soft smile slides itself onto my face. First, of course, I can basically call Zeke and tell him that we've found our vocalist and pianist. But second, she's done so well. I can tell she's classically trained, but the way that she frames every chord with her hands and slips to the right harmonies...it's soothing, and you can see that she really believes it what she's singing.

She ends the song, outlining the chords and sustaining them with the pedal. As the final sounds of the piano keys fade into oblivion, I just sit there, staring at her, speechless.

She looks down at the floor. "Was I really that bad?"

"What?" I raise my eyebrows in alarm. She took my silence as a sign that I hated it! "Tris, that was...amazing."

"It was?" She looks up at me, a shy smile on her face. "Really?"

I nod, and I see her shoulders begin to relax. "Thanks. That means a lot coming from you."

"It does?" I cock my head to the side. "Why?" There's an answer I want to hear, of course. I know she's not going to say it, but there's no harm in wishing.

But to my surprise, she answers. "I respect you. A lot." She shrugs. "I guess I care about your opinion."

"You really shouldn't. I'm just a regular guy. I'm no one special." _Though you make me feel that way whenever I talk to you_.

She laughs. "Tobias, believe me when I say this: you're much more than just a regular guy to me."

There's a moment of silence where her words sink in.

I grin.

She blushes.

Suddenly the door bangs open. Zeke strides in through the doors, his arms full of Taco Bell as he sings a random song. It's not until he's almost at the front of the room when he sees us. His jaw drops before he composes himself and wiggles his eyebrows. I roll my eyes, but I can feel heat creeping up my neck. Tris giggles.

"Sorry guys, I didn't know you were in here. I wouldn't have interrupted your...moment." Zeke smiles wickedly.

"It wasn't a moment." We say at the same time. Then we both turn to each other. "What?"

Tris nudges me. "Jinx, you owe me a soda!"

"What are we, five?" I scoff.

Zeke chortles, depositing his food in the front row of seats. "You guys sound like an old married couple." That comment has us _both_ blushing, and we hurriedly stand up from the piano bench. I immediately miss the feeling of her shoulder pressed up against mine.

Whoa, Tobias. Slow down.

"I should be going, anyway." Tris turns to me with pleading eyes. "Any way you can take me home?"

"Sure, no problem." As if I can say no to that face.

"Thanks."

I throw her the keys. "You can go ahead and get in. I have to talk to Zeke for a few minutes about some stuff for the audition." She nods and runs off through the doors. My eyes follow her.

"Ahem." I'm snapped out of my daze. "You want to tell me why you guys were cozying up by the piano?" Zeke smirks.

"We weren't _cozying up_." At least, that wasn't the original goal. Or was it? "I was just helping Tris practice for her audition."

"For Saturday?" He raises his eyebrows in surprise. "Are you telling me that we finally found someone good that you actually like?"

"Okay, hold up a second. Have we ever found anyone good and then rejected them because _I_ didn't like them?"

Zeke crosses his arms. "Lauren."

"She was...pitchy on the high notes, and she couldn't confidently hold harmonies." Actually, I was very aware of how she kept hitting on me at school and at youth group. Aware and annoyed.

"Right." Zeke rolls his eyes. "Anyways, I'm glad we found someone, because no one else has signed up for auditions."

I crinkle my forehead. "Seriously? People are always clamoring to get on."

"I guess we've kind of gotten a bad track record with new people since we haven't accepted anyone in a long while. Maybe Tris can change that." The corner of Zeke's mouth lifts. "That's not the only thing she's changing, man."

"Hmm?" I look confusedly at Zeke.

"You've been so much happier since you met her. And it's been, what, a week?"

"Eric's been putting us together for a lot of things recently. I've gotten to know her. Can you blame me for liking someone?"

"No...I guess I'm just surprised." Zeke unwraps a burrito from his Taco Bell feast. "Anyway, you should probably give your girl a ride back home. She's been waiting for a while."

"Good idea." I pass Zeke on my way to the door, and he punches my arm. "Hey, what was that for?"

"A good luck punch. To help you get the girl, you know?"

Per usual, I have no idea what Zeke is talking about. "Not sure that works."

"You're right...I better pray for you, dude."

 **A/N Gotta love FourTris! R &R ~skutti2000**


	23. Chapter 23

**TRIS**

"There is no way you _didn't_ get selected." Tobias grins as he drives me to work from church.

"Um, yeah, because I was the only one who showed up." I laugh. Auditions went so well, mostly in part that I was the only one who came.

"That's not true. Noah came with his didgeridoo!"

I giggle. "Somehow I feel a didgeridoo is not quite the sound you're looking for." Poor guy got sent home with a pat on the back from Zeke. "Why is the turnout so low, anyway? I'd thought that there would be at least ten people for sure. You guys are popular, and we have a huge youth group."

"Yeah, I...I guess." We stop at a red light, and Tobias scratches the back of his neck. "The thing is, we've had a hard time finding good people to join. Plus, most of the people who want to join want to do it for the popularity, not for the worship."

"What makes you think I'm different?" I smirk.

Tobias glances at me, smiling. "Tris, you're too good for that. You know that, I know that, everyone know that. You're too kindhearted and selfless."

"That would be the first time I've heard 'selfless' being applied to me." I roll my eyes and lean my head on the seat. "You've seen my parents. They're not exactly the most impressed by my behavior." I rolled my head around so I was looking at him. "Though they seemed to like you pretty well. My dad said he needed to get 'tips' from your dad."

Tobias stiffens. "I guess." The rest of the ride is silent. Did I say something wrong?

We pull up the the radio station and walk in. Eric has me on air with Christina, since her former partner just left for college. Christina is a good radio partner, especially since she knows how to fill dead air. I've learned a lot of the terminology, and I pretty much know what buttons to press now. The radio station is beginning to feel like a second home to me, with Christina, Zeke, Tobias and I goofing off at every opportunity. I've also been exposed to a lot more cool music, which is something I am definitely thankful for. Lately, it's been my saving grace, the part of my life that has kept me sane.

As the next few weeks fly by, I find myself in a comfortable routine. Sundays are church. Mondays are Bible Study with the girls. I'm glad to say that I'm slowly warming up to Lynn and Marlene, despite their previous comments. Tuesdays are praise team practices, and Wednesdays are youth group. Zeke hasn't put me on the schedule to play yet; he says I need to get into the groove of things before I can play. That's why I go to practices every week. Thursdays are my break, and then Fridays I usually hang out with Christina. Of course, every day I'm at the radio station too. It's not long before June turns into July, and then August is here.

I'm sitting in my room, listening to music, when someone knocks on my door. "Come in!" I yell.

The door opens, and Mom comes in. She sits on my bed. "Hey, sweetie. You've been busy all week! How have you been?"

"Good!" I straighten up and face her on the bed. "Bible study yesterday was good, and I have practice tonight."

Mom beams. "I'm glad that you're fitting in so well with your friends! I guess that's why the car isn't getting much use." I look at her confused, and she explains. "I gave you the keys to the car at the beginning of the summer, and it's barely made five runs since then."

"Oh. Sorry. My friend Tobias keeps driving me places. I guess I forgot that I can drive too!"

"Tobias?" Mom raises an eyebrow. "Hmm, I've heard that name pretty regularly in your stories. Is he a good friend of yours?"

I nod. "Yeah. He's pretty cool, and he's really nice. He's the one who got me a job at the station, and also the one to recruit me to praise team. He's funny too, and he makes time to listen, and-" I realize Mom is staring at me with an amused smile on her face, and I realize I'm gushing. Heat creeps up my neck. "Yeah."

"Okay, well let me know if anything happens." Mom winks at me. "But you have some other things to focus on at the moment. School starts in two weeks."

I feel the color drain from my face. I was so wrapped up in the paradise of summer than I completely forgot about school! "Oh...I don't even remember signing up for classes."

Mom puts an envelope on my bed. It's addressed to me, from Hancock High School. "Here's your schedule. Your friends should have gotten theirs today as well, so you can compare with them." She rises to walk out, but before she leaves she turns around. "Make sure you get school supplies too!" With that, she's gone.

I sigh. School is great and all, but it's so stressful. I rip open the envelope and quickly scan my class schedule. There's eight classes, 45 minutes each. Sounds simple enough.

 _P1: AP Statistics, Pedrad_

 _P2: AP Chemistry, Matthews_

 _P3: AP Biology, Reyes_

 _P4: AP Music Theory, Black_

 _-LUNCH-_

 _P5: Study Hall, Black_

 _P6: English 11 Honors, Kang_

 _P7: American Studies II Honors, Wu_

 _P8: Team Sports, Coulter_

At first, I cringe. It's not the fact that I have four AP classes; it's the fact that they're all in the _morning_. I'm definitely not a morning person. I'm excited for AP Music Theory though. I've been dreaming of taking that class since I heard about it! Periods 6 through 8 seem simple enough. I wouldn't have taken Team Sports, but I needed a physical education credit and that seemed like the easiest one. I definitely wouldn't consider myself athletic. My skinny body is due purely to a rapid metabolism, and its lack of muscles speaks for itself.

It's not long before I get a call from Christina. "Tris! Have you checked your mail yet?" I jump, her loud squeal startling me.

"Yes, geez, calm down! I got my schedule. What classes do you have?"

"Hold up. There's an easier way to do this." I hear some paper rustling, and then the click of a phone being hung up. I shrug. She must have a reason.

Sure enough, soon my phone buzzes. Christina's set up a group chat with our entire discipleship group.

 _C: Hey guysss! Send a pic of your schedule so we can compare with each other_

A few vibrations later, I finally figure out that I'm an outlier in this group. Most of the guys are taking classes like Strength Training or just having work study, while the girls are taking classes like Independent Living and Child Development. In other words, relatively easy classes compared to my AP-packed schedule. I sigh. Then I realize I haven't seen Tobias' yet.

 _TP: Is it just me, or are we missing one?_

Someone instantly responds.

 _TE: chill, I'm almost home._

A few minutes later, I see his schedule and breathe a sigh in relief. He has math, chem, music theory, study hall, _and_ gym with me. Christina, Marlene, and Uriah have history and english with me, and everyone is in team sports with me.

 _S:_ _Niiiice, Tris, you signed up for team sports without our guidance ;)_

 _Z: That's like our traditional class fyi_

 _TP: sounds good_

* * *

 **TOBIAS**

As soon as I got Tris' text of her schedule through the group chat, I was ecstatic. I signed up for a lot of the classes that Tris had. Sure enough, when I cross checked my schedule with hers, there were only three classes that we didn't have together.

Attached to the schedule was a list of school supplies. I took the opportunity to text Tris.

 _TE: hey, do you need to go school supply shopping?_

After a moment, she replies. I've gotten used to texting her over the past two months.

 _TP: yeah actually. Why?_

 _TE: we can make a trip to Staples if you want. School supplies are best not to be braved alone :)_

Was that too cheesy?

 _TP: haha sure, as long as I pick you up. You've been driving me around all summer long when I have a car AND a license!_

 _TE: lol it's all good, I like driving you places._

Hope that wasn't too obvious. Was it too obvious? I always overanalyze my actions when I'm talking to Tris.

 _TP: you sure?_

 _TE: yes! Seriously._

 _TP: if you say so!_

 _TP: so you're picking me up and driving me somewhere so we can spend time together...is this a date? ;P_

My eyes widen as I read her text and something rises in the back of my throat. I hadn't thought of it that way. I realized the ball was in my court. I could say yes and pray that she's okay with it, or I could say no and accidentally drive her away.

 _TP: Tobias, I'm kidding, chill xD_

I breathe a sigh of relief.

 _TE: I know xD soooo Thursday, how does that sound?_

 _TP: good. See you tonight_

 _TE: tonight?_

 _TP: praise team practice?_

 _TE: right right. I'm picking you up!_

 _TP: No!_

 _TE: Yes. No ifs ands or buts._

 _TP: Fine. I get to pick the song on the way though._

 _TE: Deal._

 _ZP: Heyyy Toby doesn't even let ME pick the song on the way, what is this unfair world_

Zeke?!

I quickly check the top bar of my phone screen, and sure enough, Tris and I have been talking in the group chat. Wonderful.

* * *

 **TRIS**

Oh no...I've been denying accusations from the girls all summer that I may like Tobias. I've been able to hold them off for two months, and they've just been starting to calm down.

I have a feeling that they're about to get all riled up again.

 **A/N This is a pretty short chapter, I know. I'm also going to apologize for the whole schedule thing...I know high school Divergent has been overdone but the characters can't exactly stay in summer all their lives. I'm going to try to make it traditionally original (if that's a thing). If you have a feeling that it's getting a little too stereotypical or cheesy, then let me know through reviews or PMs. Love you guys! ~skutti2000**


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N So, it's been a while. I've been having massive writer's block with where to go with this story. This is Chapter 24, so I'm starting to think about where I want it to end, and I'm not sure. I could really use some advice with that. Anyways. All rights to the Divergent characters belong to Veronica Roth!**

* * *

 **TOBIAS**

Practice last night went really well. Tris was ecstatic when she found out she'd be playing onstage with us tonight. Zeke and I both agreed that she was ready.

I was sitting in the radio booth, waiting for Zeke to arrive for our segment. My phone buzzed in my pocket, the screen glowing. I picked it up. "Zeke, where you at, buddy? Our shift at the radio station starts in five minutes."

"Yeah, about that." Zeke's voice is sheepish. "I'm kind of at the hospital right now."

"What?" I'm on my feet in a flash. "Dude, are you okay? What happened?"

"Uriah and I decided to go mattress riding down our spiral staircase." I roll my eyes. Typical Zeke. "Uriah ended up fine, but I broke my arm on the landing."

"Of course."

"I explained the situation to Eric already, and he's sending in a replacement. You okay with leading the set tonight without me?"

"Yeah, that's fine. Who's the replacement?"

I can practically hear Zeke smirk through the phone. "Don't worry, you'll be fine." With that, the line goes dead.

I hear the door to the radio booth open, and a familiar voice calls out, "Tobias?"

I jump in my seat, turning towards the door. I didn't bother cleaning myself up much for this because I thought it was just going to be Zeke and I around. I begin to regret my lack of care as I run my hands through my hair in an effort to get it to go in the right direction. "H-hey, Tris, Zeke just called me. Are you his replacement?"

"Yep." Tris' eyes wander up to my hair and she stifles a giggle. "Nice do. Trying out the bedhead look?"

"Whatever," I grumble. "I slept in."

"Okay, wait, let me tame this. It's too distracting for me." She takes out a brush from her purse and walks behind me. Soon I can feel the plastic bristles soothingly going through my hair. It feels really nice. "How much time until we're on air?"

"Twee…" I can barely form a cohesive thought. "Two or three minutes."

"Great." She removes the brush from my hair and slides into the desk chair next to me, putting on her headset and adjusting her mic. I find myself thinking about how beautiful her hair is when she leaves it down.

Lately my mind has been wandering to these sorts of things all the time. Even though I've basically spent my whole summer with her, she still manages to catch me off-guard with her natural beauty, gorgeous smile, and amazing personality. She's a real catch, and on top of all that she's got a strong relationship with God. My crush on her is definitely growing.

However it strikes me more and more often that she deserves someone better than me. God knows I'm pretty screwed up, with Marcus and my always shifting mood. She deserves someone who doesn't have so many inner demons and emotional baggage with them.

* * *

 **TRIS**

Zeke has been giving me so many reasons to love him lately. First, he let me know that I'd be playing tonight with the rest of the band, and I could barely hold in my excitement. I've been waiting for this moment for the entire summer! I feel bad for Tobias, because on the way back from practice yesterday the car was filled with my high pitched squeals.

Then, today, Zeke broke his arm! I know, I know, I shouldn't be happy about it, but Zeke put me on as his replacement and I can't wait to be on air with Tobias. I've only ever been on air with Christina, and it'll be nice to spend even more time with him. As the summer is coming to a close, I'm really starting to get a grip for my feelings for Tobias. Not only is he sweet, funny, handsome, and caring, but he also has a good foundation with God. And that combination is pretty rare to find.

But I'm not stupid. I've been living in the bubble of security that is summer. Once school starts, I know that he's going to be hit on by beautiful girls, girls who are much prettier than me. Ones that have _assets._ I know Tobias isn't that kind of guy, but he's still a teenager and he's still susceptible. I've seen the way that some girls look at him even within our youth group, and I can pretty much guarantee that I'll never be more than a friend to Tobias.

I enter the recording booth, and Tobias starts. "Tobias?"

He runs his hands through his messy brown hair, which has grown longer over the summer. I smile as I see that he only manages to make it worse. He scratches the back of his neck. "H-hey, Tris, Zeke just called me. Are you his replacement?"

"Yep." I try to stifle a giggle. "Nice do. Trying out the bedhead look?"

"Whatever," Tobias grunts, color rising in his cheeks. "I slept in." I grin as I look at the tendrils of his hair wildly sticking up in all directions. It's adorable. His hair looks really soft. I wonder what shampoo he uses...does he use conditioner? Do guys use conditioner, anyway? I have no idea.

Snap out of it, Tris.

"Okay, wait, let me tame this. It's too distracting for me." I take out the brush from my purse. I always carry it around, just in case. I walk behind him and try to tame his mane, and I see his shoulders tense and then relax as I finish up. "How much time until we're on air?"

"Twee…" He clears his throat. "Two or three minutes."

"Great." I walk back to my chair and put on my headset. I count down the seconds until the song playing ends and then focus. When I'm on air, it's like when I play piano. I get sucked into this whole other world that takes all of my attention.

"Hey, listeners! That was _Good News_ by Manic Drive. Wondering what a female voice is doing on the radio at this time? Well, Zeke decided to break his arm like the doofus he is, so lucky for you guys I'm here to stand in." I laugh. I'm a completely different person on air, because I don't need to worry about people judging me for my appearance.

"Yeah, we're lucky to have you, Tris." Tobias cuts in from his headset, flashing me a smile. "But the show must go on. As per usual, we're going to have our Q&A session and open it up to you guys for a couple minutes before putting the next song on. So call in, and we'll try to answer all of your questions the best we can!"

A caller comes in, and I patch it into the live feed. "Hey! I have a question for Tris."

"Shoot."

"So this is going to sound really cliche, but I like this girl." He laughs. "Sorry. Um, I think she might like me back, but I'm not sure. She always seems to be dropping subtle hints though."

"Okay, then I think you're good, right? You can tell her that you like her with little to no risk. Seems like a dream come true," I say wistfully. I can only wish my situation was as easily solved as that.

"Oh yeah, I got all that figured out already. But I don't know _how_. As a girl, how would you want to hear it?"

"That's a good question." I tuck a wayward strand of hair behind my ear and I sense Tobias looking at me intently, like he wants to know the answer himself. If I was him, I would too. I mean, I'm basically giving out girl cheat codes. "Do something that hasn't been done before, and put a lot of effort in it. Believe it or not, we can tell when you decided to stop by CVS and get us a heart teddy bear in a last-ditch effort to be smooth. So don't do that." The caller chuckles and I giggle with him. "Seriously though, all the girl needs to know is that you care and she's not just another 'conquest'. Even if you're not that type of guy, you need to make that clear."

There's silence for a moment before the caller speaks again. "Okay, so, uh, what should I do…?"

I sigh. This is going to be harder than I thought. "You seriously want me to spell it out for you?"

"Yeah," the guy sheepishly replies. I roll my eyes.

"Remember how I talked about putting in effort? Yeah, this is where you come in." With that, I end that call.

Tobias exhales. "Tris, don't you think that was a little harsh?"

"Honestly, no. I feel like these days guys think they can just get the girl delivered to them on a silver platter, but that just shouldn't be how it works. If you're listening, caller, please remember that the most you can give your dream girl is the work that you put in to please her."

"Wow, that's pretty deep," Tobias says, nodding his head approvingly.

"Looks like we have another caller!" I patch the caller in. "Hey, you're on air! What's up?"

"I have a question for Tobias, actually." I recognize the voice immediately. Shauna.

"Sure, go ahead." Tobias doesn't seem to realize that he knows the caller, absentmindedly running his fingers through his hair.

"At the beginning of the summer, you told all the listeners you've got your eye on someone. Have you gotten the girl yet?"

Tobias chuckles nervously as my heart drops to my feet. Christina obviously put Shauna up to this, but I don't understand why. They _know_ I'm crushing on Tobias, and Tobias made it pretty clear that the girl he likes is perfect the last time. In other words, he made it obvious that it wasn't me. What was Christina trying to prove, torturing me like this?

"No, unfortunately not. I can't quite work up the courage to let her know." Tobias scratches the back of his neck, which I've come to learn means that he's uncomfortable.

"Why not?" Shauna asks.

He exhales. "I don't know if she likes me back, and either way she's too good for me. I've been getting to know her a lot this summer, which I'm grateful for, but it's made me realize that she deserves someone better than me."

I feel jealous for whoever this mystery girl is. It almost captures my entire mind; that's how envious I am. But jealousy aside, whoever this girl is is making Tobias less sure of himself, and that's disconcerting to see. "Hey," I softly say.

He looks up at me. "Yeah?'"

"Whoever this girl is?" I smile gently. "She's really lucky to have you."

"Thanks, Tris." He lifts a corner of his mouth as we stare at each other.

It's only when Shauna awkwardly clears her throat that we remember that we're still on air. "Um, thanks for answering my question. I'm going to hang up now."

Tobias jumps. "Yeah, yeah, no problem. Let's keep it going with the next song!" With that, he quickly patches in the next song

As soon as the opening notes start playing, Eric pops his head into the door. His mouth is pressed in a firm line. "Can I see you both outside?"

"Now?" I ask.

"Now."

* * *

 **TOBIAS**

That was the most awkward moment of my life. Not only did that caller get me talking out loud about Tris _in front of her,_ but I zoned out on air. No doubt that's what Eric is going to talk to us about.

He leads us into his cramped office and then closes the door behind us. Then he whirls around, a stern look on his face. "What was that?"

I can see Tris step back and sidle closer to me when she sees the expression on his face. But when I glance at her, her face is edged with steely resolve. "What was what?"

"That." He motions towards the booth. "I don't really care whether you guys are dating, but can you please leave it at the front door? It gets really awkward on air."

I blanch. Eric thinks we're dating?

"Whoa, whoa, hold up." Tris puts her hands up in front of her defensively. "We're not dating." I see a blush rise in her cheeks.

"Right, I forgot." Eric rolled his eyes. "He likes you, you like him, but neither of you have the guts to say it to each other."

We both freeze. All I can think about is _deny, deny, deny_.

"What? You think I like Tris?" I force myself to laugh. "That's crazy. We're just good friends. I would never date her, she's, like...yeah. Nope. Not dating." I don't even know what I'm saying at this point; all I know is that I need to get Eric off my back.

"Yeah." Tris hits me in the arm. _Ow_. That girl can pack a punch. "Good friends, that's all."

"Okay then…" Eric looks unconvinced. "I'm going to let you off with a warning, since this is your first time hosting together, but don't let it happen again. I'm going to keep songs playing for the rest of your segment, so you guys are done." With that, he ushers us out of his office and slams the door.

I turn towards Tris, who has her head down. "Dude, that punch hurt!" I nudge her and smile. "Leave it to you to take down a guy who's almost a foot taller than you with one punch."

"Thanks." Her voice sounds oddly congested and clipped, and it's only when she turns away that I see the tears on her cheek.

"Wait, Tris, what's wrong?" I reach out and grab her shoulder.

She shakes me off. "Nothing." She plasters a smile on her face, swiping at the trails of water on her face.

"No, tell me what's wrong." I grab her arm and turn her towards me.

"It's not worth it." Her voice is pleading. "Please, Tobias, just let me go, okay?"

I let go of her arm and watch and she hurries out the door.

* * *

 **TRIS**

When Eric assumed Tobias and I were dating and stated that we liked each other, a little part of me leapt in excitement. Eric's a bystander, and if _he_ puts us together, then maybe Christina is right- Tobias likes me.

But Tobias' words are playing on repeat in my mind as I slam the door to my car and peel out of the parking lot.

"That's crazy. We're just good friends. I would never date her, she's, like...yeah. Nope. Not dating."

He had said it like it didn't mean anything significant. That he would never date me, that it was _crazy_ to even think that had a possibility of happening. There was so much wrong with me that he couldn't even pinpoint one thing to mention.

I guess to him, it really didn't mean anything. It's not like he likes me, or he is aware that I like him. But he had finally put into words the very thing I had been fearing: Tobias would never like me.

When I got home, I turned off the car and just sat inside for a few moments. I tilted my head up to look at the roof.

Before coming here, I had prayed. _Hardcore_ prayed.

 _Lord, let the next person You let me have feelings for be the one._

 _Let the next person keep my heart intact. Let me live without another broken heart to take care of._

 _I can't have another David in my life_.

David was perfect. He seemed to value me, to cherish me even though I wasn't particularly attractive. Then he started mentioning other girls more and more. Of course, I didn't suspect anything. I wanted to believe the best about him, and I was head over heels in love. Love is blind, after all.

I knew I wanted to take things slow. I had previously wanted to save my first kiss for marriage, but David convinced me to give that up for him. However, he quickly realized that the kiss was all he was going to get, and I could tell he was getting impatient. But I just dismissed it and believed that he loved me back anyway.

So you can imagine my surprise when I stumbled across him in an empty hallway, his hand up another girl's shirt. I just turned around and walked away. He was too distracted to register that I had been there; when he texted me for the next week asking what's wrong, all he got was radio silence. By the next week, the messages had tapered off until I saw him with his tongue down the same girl's throat, in a crowded hallway this time.

It hurt. It hurt so unbelievably much. The first two days were filled with a fiery anger that I could barely repress. The next week I was just numb. The week after that I was depressed.

At first I screamed at God, asking Him why He was putting me through this, why He didn't show me David's real persona before. But like it says in James, those trials are there for a reason. I resolved to be stronger for the next time, and to be sure that I truly knew someone before I fell for them. When we moved here, I was determined to get a fresh start. I was determined not to let it happen again.

But Tobias.

Over this past summer I've come to realize that I _really_ like him. I don't know about love quite yet-after all, I'm only sixteen-but I thought that maybe if God had let me have such strong feelings for him, it meant that Tobias was right for me.

I guess I was wrong.

* * *

 **A/N So that chapter may have been mindless rambling as I tried to come up with something to write. Or maybe it was good. I don't know. I'm not good at judging my own writing. But let me know what you guys think. If need be, I can update this chapter again and alter some of it. Looking forward to reading your reviews!**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N Hey guys! Wanted to get another update done before school started. Sorry this is taking me some time, I just want the chapters to be long enough to be worth your while. If you still have problems with the length, please review and I'll try to fix it. This chapter may be a little sketchy at one part since we know that Tobias and Tris like each other, but I purposely made it so that they're _not_ experiencing any kind of sexual tension whatsoever. I think I'm just paranoid, but still. Let me know what you guys think! I love reading your reviews :)**

 **Disclaimer: Divergent belongs to Veronica Roth.**

* * *

 **TOBIAS**

I drove home in a daze. It hurt a lot to see Tris upset, and for some reason she seemed to be upset because of me. I couldn't think of why.

Either way, I was going to be seeing her tonight for youth group. She was finally playing with us onstage, and she had been ecstatic for this moment for practically the entire summer. I knew she wouldn't let me ruin it for her.

I walked up the steps to my front door and took out my keys to unlock the door. But when I turned the doorknob, I realized that it had been unlocked the whole time. But I made sure it was locked this morning before I left for the station…

By the time I noticed the extra pair of shoes at the door, it was too late to leave. Marcus made eye contact with me, and I gulped, trying to remember if I did anything wrong. I completely forgot that Marcus was coming back today, and he gets furious about the tiniest things…

"What's in the sink, Tobias?" He raises his eyebrows sternly as I walk past him and look at the kitchen sink. In it are my cereal bowl and spoon from breakfast today.

I turn back to him and try not to cower. "I, um, I was going to wash that as soon as I came back from…" I trail off as I remember that Marcus doesn't know about my job at the radio station. He doesn't think I need one, because I'll just be taking over his job in his company later on. But unbeknownst to him, I'm saving up to move out as soon as I turn 18. Which is in four months. Four long, long, months.

"Where did you go?" Marcus narrows his eyes at me.

I start. "Um, to Zeke's. He broke his leg." Every lie has a shred of truth.

Marcus visibly relaxes. For reasons I'll never know, he trusts Zeke, of all people. Of course, Zeke is always on his best behavior when he sees Marcus, but he's still _Zeke_.

"Well take care of the dishes in the sink." He leaves. I almost can't believe my good luck. My back isn't going to be whipped today.

But then I hear his booming voice from the living room. I rush there and see my guitar case open with my guitar in it, next to the computer where the mic was still set up. I guess I forgot to put it away before I went to bed last night. I was up late recording the song I wrote for Tris. It was amazing, and I wanted to play it for her as soon as I could.

Marcus picks up the mic, a vein popping out in his forehead. He accidentally presses a button on the mic, turning the recording light on. "What is this?"

"I was just-"

"I told you, Tobias, I don't care if you play this stupid music as long as I don't hear it and I don't see it." He gestures to the open case and waves his fisted hand with the mic in it. " _This_ is called seeing it."

I feel myself start to back out of the room as he steps toward me, sliding the belt out of his pant loops.

"Wait, I can-"

"This is for your own good, Tobias."

* * *

 **TRIS**

I may be feeling hurt by Tobias, but that's not going to stop me from enjoying my first night worshipping onstage.

I get to the church and set up my keyboard, plugging everything in. Will's in the back checking all the sound levels and monitoring the music mix. We do a soundcheck for the mic and keys and then I'm done. By now, everyone's here except for our leading man-Tobias.

"Where's Tobias?" I ask Zeke. He's sitting down with his guitar, his broken leg stretched straight out in front of him.

He looks up at me, then glances at the clock. His mouth presses in a firm line. "I forgot. He said he's not going to make it."

"He did?" I furrow my brow. "But he was planning on being here this morning. We were texting about it before I met him at the station."

Zeke shoots a stern glance at me. "Just drop it, okay Tris? It's none of your business anyway."

I involuntarily take a step back. Zeke's sudden change in personality shocks me. "O-okay."

The rest of the night passes by in a blur. The worship, the music, the pats on the back, the compliments, it all felt so...washed out. I walked through youth group in a daze, muttering the occasional form of assent or gratitude.

"Tris!"

All the voices seemed to blend together as Zeke avoided my eyes the entire night. Something was wrong, I could feel it, and he wasn't telling me. Had something happened to Tobias? Did my abrupt exit at the station this morning shake him up _that_ much?

"Tris!"

Pfft. A girl can dream.

"TRIS!" Christina punches me in the arm.

"Ow!" I yelp, jumping away from her.

She rolls her eyes. "Have you even been listening to what I'm saying about my date with Will on Friday?"

"You have a date with Will on Friday?" My voice raises an octave in pitch, a trait that has definitely been due to how much time I've been spending with Chris lately.

"Uh, yeah. I texted you about it this afternoon."

I look at my feet, inspecting my shoes. I hadn't checked my phone since this morning in case Tobias had texted me. It was obvious he didn't understand why I had been upset, and I had no need for insincere apologies.

"Sorry, my phone died."

"Are you okay?" I look up and Christina looks at me with concern. "You've kind of been in your own world tonight."

"Yeah, I'm just…" My words trail off as my eyes drift to Tobias' empty chair. He knew how excited I was about playing tonight, and it seemed like he was excited too. He wouldn't just miss it, even if he didn't want to face me after this morning. He may have been a little insensitive today, but he's still a thoughtful guy. I know him too well for me to believe Zeke.

I realize Christina is still staring at me expectantly. I clear my throat. "Yeah, must've just been surreal playing tonight."

"No, that's not it." She glances at Tobias' chair. "It's him, isn't it?"

"Who?" I feign ignorance.

She shoves me lightly. "Tris, I can tell you're lying. You bite the inside of your cheek unconsciously. It's your tell." She flips her hair. "I read a book on lie detection once. You can call me the Human Lie Detector now."

"Fine." I sigh. "Yes, I'm worried about him, okay? He should be here, and he's not."

"Maybe you should just go check on him after youth group. I'm sure you could just ask Zeke for his address."

"That's the thing that made me so suspicious!" I threw my hands in the air with frustration. "I think Zeke knows something's wrong, and he's not telling me. I can't get any information from him."

Christina taps her chin. "Oh, if only you had another friend with Tobias' address…" Her gaze slides towards Will across the room before coming back to me. Then she sees the look in my eyes. "No, Tris, I am _not_ going to ask Will for his address. If you want it, you go get it."

"Please?" I give her my best puppy dog look. "I'll pay you back somehow, I promise."

She sighs and rolls her eyes. "Fine. But you owe me." She walks over to Will and starts talking to him inaudibly. I watch them, praying that Will hands over the address.

Christina gives him a face quite similar to the one I gave her a few moments ago before Will shrugs. I pick at my cuticles, not wanting to see the look of disappointment on Christina's face when Will denies her.

But instead, when I look up, Christina is flouncing back to me, a smile plastered onto her face, and Will is grinning at me behind her. I narrow my eyes at them both. "What?"

"Here's the address." Will hands his phone to me, and I take a picture of it.

"Why-"

"This is the first time Tobias has shown some interest in a girl," he chuckles, interrupting me. "Of course I'm going to help Christina set you guys up together."

"What?" I glare at Christina. "What do you think you're doing?"

Her smile fades. "What's wrong, Tris? I thought you'd be happy to find out that he likes you."

"He doesn't." I bite my lip as I think back to the radio station incident. "I know he doesn't."

Christina gives me a sad look before scowling at Will. "Did he expressly tell you that he liked Tris?"

"Yes!" Will's voice is filled with disbelief at my statement. "Zeke called us all over to his house to brainstorm ideas to woo her and everything. He definitely likes her."

"Tris?" Christina peers at me closely. "Did something happen that I don't know about?"

As I tell them about what happened at the radio station this morning, a crease appears between Will's eyebrows and Christina starts to glower at nothing in particular.

"That makes no sense." Will runs a hand through his hair. "He's not the type of person to change like that."

"All I know is that he hurt my best friend and I'm going to kill him." She clenches her fists.

"Whoa, easy there, tiger," Will says, taking one of her hands and rubbing it soothingly. She blushes at this and I instinctively smile. They're so cute together! But my smile slowly melts away as I realize that it'll never happen to me. They're the lucky ones, I guess.

"So here's the plan." Christina's voice interrupts my thoughts. "Even though he may not be my favorite person at the moment, I can see that you still care about him a lot. So after youth group, go to his house and confront him. Interrogate him. No matter what. Sure, he may be feeling bad for this morning, but that's no reason to miss your first night playing onstage."

"Okay." Then my face falls. "Oh no, I was supposed to be Caleb's ride home today. I can't stop by his house with Caleb...he'll ask too many questions."

"Are you sure that you're his ride?" Will points behind me, and I look and see him exiting with Peter and Cara. "He looks pretty good to me."

Sure enough, when I check my phone, I see that he's going to Peter's house after youth group. "Great. Then I'm all clear to visit Tobias." I turn towards Christina. "How do I look?"

The corners of her mouth curl up, but it doesn't reach her eyes. "Like you're about to get hurt."

* * *

 **TOBIAS**

I groan. I try to get up, but with every movement my back screams in pain. I crawl forward miserably and look back at the wall that I've been slumped up against for who knows how long. It's red, sticky with my smeared blood. I sigh. I guess it'll be more to clean up later, along with those dishes in the sink.

I drag my way up the stairs as the after-Marcus routine starts to set in. I try to minimize my back movement as much as possible. When I finally get to my room around a half hour later, my thin white T-shirt is soaked with not just my blood but my sweat, as well. Gritting my teeth, I force myself to block out the inevitable pain as I heave my arms over my head and pull my shirt off in one fluid motion. I can't suppress the groan that escapes my mouth, or the tears that flow out of my eyes. _Oh God, please help me. It's worse than normal._

I lie down on my bed on my stomach, letting my back air dry. Tomorrow I'll be absent from school, and Zeke will come over after and help me put myself back together if I'm still hurting.

I reach for the phone on my nightstand and dully check the time. Youth group is over by now, and I feel a deep pang when I realize that I missed Tris' first night playing with us. She probably hates me now...first this morning, and then missing her debut with the band.

I still don't really know what I did wrong there, but I'm sure I'll figure it out later.

My reverie is interrupted by a sharp rap at the door. I jump, startled, before stifling another yell. Marcus most likely went out for a business dinner after he finished with me, but if he sees someone at the door…

Let's just say there will be no need for Zeke to come back for me tomorrow.

The person keeps knocking, but then I hear a lilting voice.

"Tobias? Are you okay?"

My heart clenches as I stay silent. _Tris._

"I know you're in there. The car is in the driveway."

I hold my breath, hoping she goes away. She can't see me. Not now. Not like this. _God, when I asked for help, this was NOT what I wanted..._

"Come on, I'm worried about you. It's not like you to miss tonight."

I wait for a few more seconds before I hear her footsteps retreat down the porch, and I breathe a sigh of relief. But then my muscles tense again when I hear footsteps coming back up with determination.

"I don't care, I'm coming in."

I hear the doorknob turn as the door creaks open. Marcus never locks the door when he goes out.

"Tobias?"

I hear her feet scamper up the stairs, and then she materializes in the doorway of my room. She meets my eyes before noticing the bloody mess on my back. I close my eyes, cringing, as she opens her mouth.

"What happened to you?!"

* * *

 **TRIS**

I never expected to see _this_.

Tobias shuts his eyes. "Tris, please don't-"

"Who did this to you?" I can't stop the words that are bubbling from my mouth. _Lord, please help me be of some use to Tobias._ "Are you okay? Can I help you? Does it hurt? Maybe-"

"Shh, Tris, it's okay." He shifts, obviously enduring a lot of pain. I think I actually see a tear leak out of one of his eyes. "I'm fine."

"No, you're obviously not." I gingerly sit by him on the bed. "Who did this to you?"

"Um." He hesitates.

I'm about to press for more information, but then I remember that we all have our problems. He'll tell me when he's ready. "It's okay, you don't have to tell me. However, you _do_ need to tell me where your first aid kit is."

"Bathroom across the hall, under the sink," he grunts. "There's a bandage roll and some ointment."

I don't even want to question why the statement seems like a routine thing to say for him. I rush across the corridor and grab the supplies, wetting a towel with hot water as well. When I come back, he's scooted across the bed a little to make room for me to sit. I carefully sit myself down, making sure not to touch him or cause him any more agony.

"This may hurt a little," I mutter. Tobias nods.

I slowly dab away the dried blood on his back with the towel. He draws a breath sharply as I touch one of his deeper cuts. When I finally clear everything away, I see that all the blood is coming from four deep gashes, crisscrossed from the bottom of his shoulders to the lower part of his torso. Though there's still a little blood oozing out, it seems to be slowing down.

"Tris, I-" He stops. "I'm sorry."

I hum as I continue to work. "For what?"

"For not showing up at youth group tonight."

"I don't think that's quite your fault, Tobias." I pick up the ointment and prepare to spread it over all the cuts.

"Well that's not-" He moans as I smear the ointment. "That feels nice. Thanks, Tris."

"Of course. You were saying?"

"Um." He pauses. "What was wrong this morning?"

"Sit up, I need to wrap this around you." I close the ointment and pick up the roll of bandage cloth.

He sits up, but then turns to face me on the bed. "Don't avoid the question."

I wrap it tightly around his body and torso, making sure I cover all of the gashes. "I...it doesn't matter at the moment."

I secure the edge of the bandage with a safety pin and then stand up off the bed. He stands up with me before softly walking to his closet and pulling out a dark shirt. Then he faces me, shirt in hand. "You know I care about you, right?"

"Y-yes?" I feel a lump in my throat.

"I'm serious." He looks me in the eye, and I squirm. "I do."

"Okay."

"Well if we're in agreement, I'd like to know what I did wrong this morning so I don't repeat it. Fair?" He sits on his bed, shirt still in his hand, and then pats the spot beside him. "Sit. Spill."

I plop myself down with a huff. "I was hurt by something you said, okay? With Eric. That's all I'm giving you, though. I'll tell you when you tell me who beat you up today."

He looks away for a second. "It may be a while before that happens," he says so softly that I almost miss it.

Then he looks at me again, the familiar sparkle in his eyes returning. "So, I may need a little help with this…" He hands me the shirt.

I roll my eyes and gently put it on him, careful not to touch his back or make him move in a way that causes too much discomfort. "That good?"

"Yeah." We slowly make our way to the door, a comfortable silence between us. When we get to the steps of his porch, he stops and turns his gaze to me. His blue eyes are intense, and I have to focus on trying not to fidget.

"Thank you, Tris. Really. You didn't have to do all this."

"I was worried about you," I say truthfully. "I knew something was wrong. I'm glad I came...I'm not sure when you would've gotten help."

"Yeah, Zeke usually checks on me the day after when things like this happen, but it feels nice to be taken care of immediately."

"This isn't just a one time thing, is it?" I say it more as a statement than a question as Tobias' eyes grow wide at what he just admitted.

He opens his mouth to speak but I cut him off. "No, I had my suspicions when Zeke was acting all hushed-up about your lack of appearance. It's okay. I know you'll tell me in your own time."

"You know, that's probably the nicest thing someone's ever done for me." Tobias gives me a small smile.

"What? Clean up your back?"

"No. Wait for me." He grins before turning back to the house. "Take care, Tris."

* * *

 **A/N Did I overdo that? Too cheesy? Let me know! Looking forward to reading your reviews! ~skutti2000**


End file.
